George A. Blount (Georgie)
This is one of three tales shared in the video on the left, titled "3 Tales of Lives Cut Short". The video was inspired originally by the tale of Hugh Alexander that I discovered in an old newspaper while doing research for another video. This story was not one that I could find any references to anywhere outside of a few papers from the time and reminded me of the reason I started Legends and Tales in the first place - to share lesser-known stories in addition to the well-known legends. Each tale will have its own page here, but the video and intro paragraph will be the same for each.
In the back corner of Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio there sits a statue of a little boy that captures the hearts of those who hear his story even 150 years after his tragic death. George A. Blount, nicknamed “Georgie” by those who knew him, was born on September 26, 1867, to Eli and Sarah Blount and was their only child.
By all accounts, Georgie was loved by all who knew him, and he was a constant source of joy to the staff and guests at the American House Hotel where his father was the proprietor. He was often known to run through the halls of the hotel and loved to slide down the banisters that lined the steps between the floors. In 1872, Georgie had fallen from one of these banisters, sustaining minor injuries, and since that time his parents and the hotel staff had been extra vigilant to ensure he wouldn’t fall again.
On February 7, 1873, Mr. Blount had called for a carriage for his wife and son, who would be heading out to ride around and enjoy some time outside of the hotel. Before leaving, Mrs. Blount needed to grab some items from the apartment the family stayed in on the second floor of the building. As she opened the door to the apartment and went inside, Georgie realized that he had forgotten something in the office and decided that he needed to go and retrieve it as quickly as possible. He jumped on the banister at the top of the stairs to slide down as he had done many times before.
The office Clerk, Mr. Cashatt and a nearby porter both heard the sound of something hitting the ground near the stairs and rushed to see what had happened. They would find little Georgie at the bottom of the stairs, with a cut across his forehead and a bruise on his left eye, unconscious. Within seconds, Mr. Blount had arrived as well and would pick Georgie up and carry him to the upstairs apartment where they would await the doctor.
Three different doctors were called, but they were unable to do much more than relieve some of the pain. Georgie would fade in and out of consciousness over the next week, finally succumbing to his injuries and passing away on February 14, 1873.
Georgie was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery and a statue would be erected over his resting place. Over the years, people began bringing little toys to leave on his statue, and for many years there was a mysterious individual or group that would dress the statue up each winter in a scarf and jacket to help him stay warm. Leaving things for Georgie became so popular that the cemetery established a “Little Georgie” box in the main office where people can leave items to be donated in Georgie’s name to children in Columbus who are in need.