Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
about 17 hours ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
about 19 hours ago
Longwood House, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final years.
The Longwood House: Napoleon Bonaparte’s Beautiful Prison
1 day ago
 Fenway Park at night
How Was Your First Trip With Your Significant Other?
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Ohio Dayton Grave of Johnny Morehouse

Grave of Johnny Morehouse

A headstone tells the sad story of a lost little boy and his pet dog.

Dayton, Ohio

Added By
Leah
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  ski queen / Atlas Obscura User
  ski queen / Atlas Obscura User
  ski queen / Atlas Obscura User
Johnny Morehouse and his faithful dog.   Jim Wise/CC BY 2.0
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

One of the more unusual graves at Dayton's Woodland Cemetery features a little boy resting beneath the paws of a large dog.

Five-year-old Johnny Morehouse was the youngest son of a cobbler in Dayton in the 1860s. He was playing with his pet dog by the Miami & Erie Canal when he fell into the water. His dog leapt in after him and tried to rescue the boy, but was unsuccessful. Johnny drowned and was buried at Woodland Cemetery. Allegedly the dog stood by the grave for weeks, waiting for Johnny and subsisting on scraps given him by sympathetic mourners.

Johnny's story is most likely remembered because of his poignant gravestone. It depicts the little boy nestled against his dog, and surrounded by a harmonica, a cap, a ball, and a top. Visitors touched by the tender monument to the child's death will leave behind additional gifts–the headstone is frequently covered in flowers and toys.

Related Tags

Dogs Animals Gravestones Cemeteries Graves

Community Contributors

Added By

leighannajane

Edited By

Molly McBride Jacobson, reptar5, ski queen

  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • reptar5
  • ski queen

Published

January 20, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Grave of Johnny Morehouse
118 Woodland Ave
Dayton, Ohio
United States
39.742751, -84.179771
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Original Wright Brothers Homestead

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

Wright Company Factory

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

"Stumpy" John Silver

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dayton

Dayton

Ohio

Places 5

Nearby Places

Original Wright Brothers Homestead

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

Wright Company Factory

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

"Stumpy" John Silver

Dayton, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dayton

Dayton

Ohio

Places 5

Related Places

  • The gravestone.

    Edinburgh, Scotland

    Grave of 'The Great Lafayette'

    A magician and his beloved, pampered canine were buried together, within days of each other, due to a tragic twist of fate.

  • Some of the more than 50,000 beloved pets buried at Aspin Hill.

    Silver Spring, Maryland

    Aspin Hill Pet Cemetery

    Dogs, cats, horses, monkeys, frogs, and fish are laid to rest at the second-oldest pet cemetery in the U.S.

  • Happy Woodlawn Pet Cemetery.

    Aurora, Ontario

    Happy Woodlawn Pet Cemetery

    Canada's first pet cemetery is now abandoned.

  • Stockholm, Sweden

    Pompes Grav (Pompe the Dog's Grave)

    A tombstone on the grounds of the royal castle marks the burial site of a Swedish king's beloved dog.

  • The front of Barratt’s grave.

    Middletown, Connecticut

    Joseph Barratt's Grave

    The gravestone of an eccentric Connecticut doctor features dinosaur tracks and a pair of fossil tree casts.

  • Giro’s Gravestone

    London, England

    Giro the Dog's Grave

    The final resting place of a German diplomat's beloved companion.

  • Shep’s final resting place.

    Broomfield, Colorado

    Shep the Broomfield Turnpike Dog

    The final resting spot of the Colorado Transportation Department's beloved unofficial mascot.

  • Douglas’s marker in Cedar Hill Cemetery

    Vicksburg, Mississippi

    Grave of Douglas the Confederate Camel

    The final resting place of the camel who served with the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.