Who knew that the Ouija board, that mystical, often dangerous tool to communicate with good spirits and bad entities was patented in Baltimore. In fact, the man who assigned the patent is buried in Maryland with a tombstone that has an etching of a Ouija board. You can Visit that grave and the location where the term "Ouija board" was likely coined - that location is now a 7-Eleven convenience store.
SIDE NOTE: As a paranormal investigator I caution about using them as they open doorways to the other side, and anyone, good or bad, can come in. I wrote about several paranormal investigations I've been on where Ouija board use brought in bad entities to a home and caused a lot of physical and even mental illness. Here's the story about the sites and the man who patented it.
(Image: Elijah J. Bond Patents the Ouija Board, and is gravestone. Credit: The Dagger newspaper)
WHERE TO FIND THE GRAVE AND OUIJA 7-Eleven
From U.S. News and World Report 5/22/22: Elijah Bond lived in Baltimore in the late 19th century and first patented the Ouija board. If you channeled Bond today, you might be led to his one-of-a-kind gravesite in Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery. The reverse side of his headstone is, itself, a Ouija board. So what does this have to do with a 7-Eleven? After more than a century, the origins of the mysterious board have scattered about the city, and the location of where the name "Ouija" was coined (once a boarding house where Bond lived) is now a convenience store on 529 N. Charles St. See it for yourself: a plaque to the right just inside of the entrance marks the occult milestone. Address: 529 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201
****************************The Famous and Infamous: Elijah J. Bond Patents the Ouija Board
From U.S. News and World Report 5/22/22: Elijah Bond lived in Baltimore in the late 19th century and first patented the Ouija board. If you channeled Bond today, you might be led to his one-of-a-kind gravesite in Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery. The reverse side of his headstone is, itself, a Ouija board. So what does this have to do with a 7-Eleven? After more than a century, the origins of the mysterious board have scattered about the city, and the location of where the name "Ouija" was coined (once a boarding house where Bond lived) is now a convenience store on 529 N. Charles St. See it for yourself: a plaque to the right just inside of the entrance marks the occult milestone. Address: 529 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201
From the Maryland Harford County "Dagger" Newspaper: MAY 4, 2014 BY CAROL DEIBEL
Elijah Jefferson Bond is perhaps best known for patenting the Ouija Board. Born on January 23rd 1847 in Bel Air, he was the fourth child of Judge William Bond and Charlotte Howard Richardson. Elijah and his two brothers, Frank A. and Arthur W. served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. In 1872, Elijah graduated from the Law School of the University of Maryland and opened a law practice in Baltimore. While at the University, he became close friends with Harry Welles Rusk, a fellow student who went on to become president of Kennard Novelty Company which incorporated on October 30, 1890. The two would meet in law school and begin their historic friendship.
Patents & Trademarks
Though not officially a member of the Kennard Novelty Company, Elijah Bond would assign the original Ouija patent (No. 446,054) registered on February 10, 1891 to William H. A. Maupin and Charles W. Kennard. Further cementing his relationship with the company and its associates, Col. Washington Bowie and Elijah J. Bond were assigned two patents for water and steam boilers in 1892, No. 474,645 and No. 482,384. We aren’t sure if these water boiler patents had anything to do with the Kennard Novelty Company or if it was simply a side venture.
Elijah Bond was also granted a Canadian patent (No. 36,092) for the Ouija board on March 10, 1891. Initially, this patent wasn’t assigned to anyone else, although he did soon after reach an agreement with the International Novelty Company granting them the sole right to this patent and therefore the ability to manufacture Ouija boards in Canada.
BURIED IN 1921 WITHOUT A HEADSTONE, UNTIL 2007:
Elijah Bond died on April 14, 1921 and was buried in an unmarked grave at Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore. Robert Murch found the grave in 2007 and worked tirelessly with the cemetery to obtain permission to install an appropriate marker. After receiving permission from surviving family members, Tegeler Monuments designed the monument dedicated in 2008 where Ouija board fans can visit and pay their respects to the man who first patented a favorite piece of Americana. Some fans who got their Invention ideas at InventHelp created a Ouija-like board that they’re hoping could surpass the original.
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