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There are also quite a few notables buried here, including playwright Saxon Kling, as well as several figures from Warren G. Harding's short-lived term as the 39th President of the United States. Charles Sawyer, who served as Harding's personal physician, is buried here, as is Carrie Phillips, who was involved in a scandalous love affair with Harding. Harding himself was briefly interred at Marion Cemetery before being moved to his final resting place nearby, the Harding Memorial, with his wife in the 1920s. But the #1 tourist attraction isn't any of those listed above. Rather, it's a giant stone sphere that just won't stay still. In 1896, members of the Charles B. Merchant family decided to spruce up their family plot in Marion Cemetery and make it more of a focal point. A series of small black granite spheres were arranged in a large circle to mark the family plot. In the center of this circle the family erected a 5-foot tall granite monument engraved with the family name. On top of this monument was placed an enormous 5200 lb. black granite sphere, which was polished once it was in place. All in all, the Merchant family plot was a stunning site and it quickly became a popular attraction in the cemetery. But it wasn't until a few years later that people began to notice that there was something weird going on with that giant sphere. |
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As more and more people visited Marion Cemetery, the number of explanations for the sphere's movement also increased. Everyone seemed to have their own theory, which ranged from gravitational pull to more bizarre tales of the monument being cursed or even possessed. Whatever the reason, the sphere continues to move even today, creeping along at an average of 2 inches a year. In fact, the unpolished portion is now fully exposed and is slowly making its way towards the top of the sphere. And it's not uncommon to encounter people in the cemetery taking measurements and scrawling down numbers in a notebook as they track the stone's progress. So it seems that even though it wasn't the way they had intended it, the Merchants got their wish; their family plot has become a focal point of the area. |