Eugene the Mummy, Sabina, Ohio

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Eugene's final resting place...finally ~

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Hello! I'm Mr. Ed

Blog Created: 3-9-2021

Greetings ~

Gather around and I'll tell ya the story of Eugene the Mummy. Eugene, (not his real name) was passing through the small town of Sabina, Ohio on June 9, 1929. He stayed for a few days trying to find work. With no luck, Eugene moved on. The older African-American man walked or hitchhiked along his way.

Heading toward the main road to possibly get a ride in the evening, he limped along until he couldn't walk any farther and he layed down in the ditch along the roadway, and he died.

The next morning a farmer found Eugene dead in the ditch. The farmer thought that the poor man may have been hit by a hit and run driver. But there were no outward injuries on the body. He then notified the coroner. It was determined that Eugene had died of natural causes and was turned over to the local funeral home. At Littleton Funeral Parlor Eugene was embalmed and left for identification. This would prove impossible. With news coverage no one came to claim him. The only hint of the stranger’s identity was a Cincinnati address found scribbled on a piece of paper in his pocket which, upon investigation, turned out to be a vacant lot.

So, Eugene waited. The funeral home had a small shed building on the property called the chapel and Eugene was placed in a nice suit and layed on a couch in the structure. There was a fairly large window in the shed's side wall and viewers could get a good look at the corpse layed out inside. Mr. Littleton hoped that someone would come forward soon and look in and identify Eugene. However, this would not happen. As it turned out, Eugene became to toast of Sabina, Ohio.

The town was a popular rest area for passengers on local trains. While many of them got off for a bite to eat and a stop-over, upon hearing of Eugene, they scurried over to Littleton's to get a look at the man layed out in the little building. Eugene became famous.

Over the 35 years he was displayed an estimated 1.5 million people made a point of stopping by to say hello to the mummified man on their travels between Columbus and Cincinnati.

In 1946 Eugene had reached such a level of popularity that Mr. Littleton caved in to the demands of his adoring fans and even took the dead man on tour, wowing crowds at both the Circleville Pumpkin Show and the Ripley Farmer’s Festival.

But problems arose. Eugene became the butt of high school and college pranks. He began showing up at all sorts of events. Someone even stole Eugene and propped him up on a bench at the OSU campus in Columbus as a joke. After this event in 1964, it was decided that Eugene was never going to be claimed and that the man needed to be layed to rest. So, after being given a short, respectable service, Eugene was buried in the town’s cemetery.

As it turns out, after nearly 60-years of burial, many folks still stop by Eugene's grave to pay their respects and leave coins and other mementoes. Talk about a popular guy!

At the time, this was the Littleton Funeral Home.

The little Chapel building where Eugene was put on display.

Eugene, dressed in his Sunday finest, lays in the tiny chapel building waiting for someone to ID him. It never happens.

The Citizen Magazine. Sunday, January 17, 1947.

People still visit Eugene's grave to this day.

People are still leaving coins and mementoes at the grave.

So, that's the tale of Eugene the Mummy. He was never identified and went to his grave with a false name. I feel bad for the guy but he did garner fame, not in his life but his death. If you ever get to Sabina, Ohio, stop by the local cemetery and say hi to Eugene. And leave a penny on the gravestone while your there.

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Click this link to read another strange story ~

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