Who has two clues and loves a mystery? This girl. I’ve got a two-parter for this family story, in which we’ll look into the 200 year-old question: was Eva Wampler Kinsey buried in an unmarked family plot on the grounds at the Dayton National Cemetery — a half century before the first civil war soldier was buried there? Family stories passed down tell us that in 1804 Eva and her husband Henry Kinsey purchased the land that now is home to the Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC). And that they both died on that land and remain there to this day. But no one knows exactly where.

Let’s start this investigative journey by visiting the grounds of the VAMC in contemporaneous times. And by use of that six syllable word, I mean last week.

There are those of us who find a thrill when we discover a hidden gem within our community. In our own southwestern Ohioan city of Dayton we can offer such treasures as the Oregon District, the Five Rivers Metro Parks, and of course our own version of modern mythology in the Dayton Dragons minor league baseball.

All are impressive in their own right, but were you aware that there was a prestigious post-Civil War treasure located near the grounds of Dayton’s National Cemetery? Once lost for generations, the Grotto Gardens are alive again thanks to a team of volunteers dedicated to bring back this historical splendor.

In 1867 the City of Dayton donated $20,000 towards the purchase of 380 acres of farmland located just west of the city. It was on this land that one of the first National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was built for the veterans of the the Civil War to receive healthcare.

Of these 380 acres, nearly a third was dedicated to a new national cemetery for veterans and the remaining campus was designed in a grid pattern creating small neighborhoods among the administrative buildings. But among these straight lines there were walking paths that curved around gardens and parks. These natural spaces, designed by architect C.B. Davis, were intended to provide a peaceful environment for the men who had experienced the horrors that come from warfare. A remarkable consideration of mental health in a time when such things were, at best, misunderstood.

Inspired by Davis’ landscaping design, in 1868 resident veteran Frank Mundt began planting vines and other foliage at the site of a former limestone quarry at the edge of the property. This project quickly grew to include the efforts of other residents who carved stone stairways, natural spring grottos, and the Grotto Archway that was built from limestone from the quarry. By 1871 a conservatory and greenhouse containing exotic plants were built. Also nearby was a 20 acre park that held an aviary with a pair of “American Eagles.” A herd of deer had been imported from Look Out Mountain (possibly Tennessee) and were as tame as sheep, willing to be hand-fed treats, according to a report printed in the Belmont Chronicle. The final result of these collective efforts was a day-trip destination that was enjoyed by many Ohioans of the post-Civil War era. Actually, it’s said that by the mid-1870’s approximately 100,000 people were visiting the hospital grounds and its Grotto Gardens annually.

Yeah so, it was kind of a big deal for a while. And then it was all gone. Structures decayed, walking paths destroyed by weather, and the garden overtaken by invasive plants.

So what happened? Nothing dramatic, but instead it was pretty much the usual that happens with these things. Governmental budget cuts and readjusted priorities of those in charge who didn’t consider a historical garden space worth the money to maintain.

Seasons passed one after another, more Daytonians were sent to fight wars, and our fair city of Dayton moved through the second industrial revolution, became the birthplace of manned flight, broke the code to some Enigma machine, then onto the space age and beyond.

Until we reach 2012, when a local non-profit, the American Veterans Heritage Center, partners with Dayton’s Veterans Administration Medical Center to initiate plans to repair and restore the Grotto Gardens.

And beautiful things begin to happen. Again.

As we walked through the grounds a decade after the rebirth of the Grotto Gardens, we stopped to talk with the volunteer Master Gardeners who keep the beauty going. One tells us how it took two years of experimentation to find what would grow best in her moss-lined garden bed that never sees sunshine. Another talks about the trees, some old and others newly planted, including the massive banana tree that gets trimmed back in the winter to grow again in the spring. It was apparent they love what they do and care about the future of the Grotto Garden. Many of the individual gardens are named after someone influential, except none of the names are the Master Gardeners. And that’s were altruism and volunteerism meet, y’all.

Standing at the stone grottos built by the veterans so many generations ago, we experience the calm of the natural springs running between the cracks in the stone. We imagine how the purity of this water inspired belief in its healing properties and hope that it did indeed bring relief to those who needed it.

It’s true our modern Grotto Garden takes up less space than it did when it was first created in 1868. Still, we feel the essence of its draw and understand how this natural space brought so many visitors, whether by streetcar or horse-drawn carriage. It’s this history that is the foundation of what we see today.

Since the completion of the original work in 2013, the Grotto has become a valuable healing tool for the veterans and families. The VAMC and AVHC have continued their collaboration through the MCMGV, which provides for ongoing maintenance and restoration of the gardens. With Section 106 as an important backdrop, the Grotto restoration exemplifies the benefits of a federal agency developing and fostering partnerships with non-profit organizations, volunteers, the SHPO, and outside professionals for the preservation and treatment of historic properties. The result was an outstanding historic preservation project that continues to advance the VA’s mission of healing wounded warriors.

ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION
https://www.achp.gov/sites/default/files/2017-01/dayton-grotto.pdf

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It’s near the Grotto Gardens where we will look into our Eva Wampler Kinsey mystery. Those 380 acres of farmland that was purchased in 1867 for the veteran’s medical center? That was where Eva and Henry Kinsey built their log cabin in 1804. They lived on that land until their deaths in 1920 & 1922, respectively.

Family lore is that Eva and Henry are buried in unmarked graves “on a knoll near the deer keeper’s lodge.” It’s also suggested that their daughter Hannah, along with her husband Jacob Wolf, are buried in this family plot, which is referred to as the Kinsey-Wolf Cemetery.

As it goes with family lore, it begins with a foundation of truth.

We’ll take a deep dive into this mystery in Eva and the deer keeper’s lodge: Part Two.

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