Remarkable Ohio

Results for: cuyahoga
Adams Street Cemetery, Adams Street
Berea

, OH

Known as the “Village Cemetery,” this was Berea’s main burial ground from 1834 to the 1880s. However, in 1886, the Cleveland Stone Co. purchased quarries adjacent to the cemetery, where Coe Lake is today. Quarrying had already caused flooding and landslides in the area. Local stories say that the company operated too near to the edge of cemetery, causing a landslide in the northwest corner that exposed some graves. Worried families moved their loved ones’ remains to other cemeteries, including those of five Civil War veterans. Pioneering families, 16 Civil War veterans, 3 mayors of Berea, several quarry owners, and many ordinary people still rest here. Of the original 589 burials, 40% were children. (Continued on other side)

5050 Porter Rd
North Olmsted

, OH

The Universalist religious movement spread across Ohio as the state was settled in the 1800s. Universalists proclaimed a loving God and universal salvation. Believers were sometimes scorned as “no-Hell-ers.” Olmsted’s First Universalist Society was founded in 1834. Early church members included Olmsted pioneers Asher Coe, David Stearns, Charles Olmsted, Elias Frost, and their families. Initially, services were held in the Union House of Worship, which Universalists shared with Methodists and Presbyterians. In 1847, the Olmsted Universalist congregation built this Greek Revival style church at the corner of Butternut and Coe Ridge (now Lorain) Roads. John Ames supervised the construction of the building, which cost $974. The church bell in use today was cast in Boston in 1851. The bell sounded the alarm for fires and tolled when community members died, as well as announcing worship services.

6320 Royalton Road
North Royalton

, OH

John Shepherd is believed to be the longest lived veteran of the American Revolution. He died at the age of 117 years, 9 months, and 18 days. He entered military service the first time during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The 26 year-old Shepherd, along with George Washington and others survived Braddock’s Defeat at the Battle of Monongahela in 1755. In middle age, Shepherd enlisted in the army again and defended Pennsylvania and other colonies as they fought for freedom from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). (Continued other side)

25802 Garfield Rd
Olmsted Falls

, OH

The Lakeshore and Michigan Southern Railroad built the Olmsted Falls Depot in 1876 as a part of major improvements made along the line between Cleveland and Toledo. The depot replaced a smaller flag stop station in Olmsted Falls at the Columbia Road railroad crossing. By 1909, the depot was moved from Mapleway Drive on rollers by a locomotive to this site to be closer to the heart of the village. In the early 20th century, ten trains a day stopped here. One was the “Plug,” which took commuters between Olmsted Falls and Cleveland. By mid-century, cars and planes had largely replaced train travel. The last regularly scheduled train stopped here in 1949 and service ended completely in 1960. The depot became the home of the Cuyahoga Valley and Westshore Model Railroad Club in 1977 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

3207 Monroe St
Cleveland

, OH

In January 1836, Barber and Lord sold a six-acre parcel for $160 that was to be used “forever as a public burying ground.” When Ohio City incorporated, the township cemetery became the city cemetery. Ohio City’s council established the cemetery’s rules and regulations, appointed a sexton, arranged for the ground to be platted, and purchased a hearse. After annexation by Cleveland, the cemetery became known as “the west side cemetery” and, later, the Monroe Street Cemetery. Under Cleveland’s charge, the cemetery was landscaped, protected by patrolmen, and fenced to keep out wandering hogs. Until the late 1890s, Monroe Street was the only public cemetery on Cleveland’s west side. Architect Joseph Ireland designed the cemetery’s Gothic Revival gateway arch (1874). Architect Walter Blythe designed the cemetery’s gatehouse, also in the Gothic Revival style (1876).

24101 Cedar Point Rd
North Olmsted

, OH

The North Olmsted Historical Society was founded in 1953 and became incorporated as a non-profit association in 1961. A year later, Frostville Museum opened in the Prechtel House. The society took on the challenge of preserving the history of the entire original township and became the Olmsted Historical Society in 1969. The Frostville Museum has grown from one house to a small village. Volunteers are dedicated to preserving the past and the present for the future. In August 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama designated the society as a Preserve America Steward. Frostville is an affiliate of the Cleveland Metroparks.

17769 Fowles Road
Middleburg Heights

, OH

Woodvale Cemetery was established in the mid-1800s, in Middleburgh Township, Ohio. The oldest marked grave holds Fred G. Klink (1835-1858), whose family donated a half acre of land for burials. In 1876, Frank M. Stearns (1832-1911) suggested the unnamed cemetery be called Woodvale, after the wooded vale beside it. In 1908, a fire destroyed the caretaker’s house and many cemetery records. Woodvale became a non-profit, union cemetery in 1931, owned by Berea and the Village of Middleburg Hts. and covering 35 acres at 7535 Engle Road. Pioneer families buried here: Fowles, Kraft, Lovejoy, Sprague, and Stearns. Also buried here: John Baldwin (1799-1884) founder of Baldwin University and James Wallace (1878-1953) founder of German Wallace College (merged in 1913 to become Baldwin Wallace College) (Continued other side)

NW Corner of Ridge Road and Day Drive
Parma

, OH

A bond issue passed by the voters of Parma and Parma Heights Township in 1919 funded the construction of Parma’s first high school. It was located at this site on Ridge Road, south of Ridgewood Drive (then Bean Road) and was dedicated in October 1921. Charles W. Bates designed the school as a single story building, but two years later a second story was added. The first graduating class in 1922 consisted of six students, two boys and four girls. In 1928, the land behind the school became the football field. The Parma High School building became a junior high in 1937 and then in the 1950s, Ridge Road Elementary. From 1962 to 2006 the old high school was the Parma City Schools’ Board of Education. The building was demolished in October 2010.