99-18 Woodvale Union Cemetery

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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 […]

98-18 Frostville Museum / Frostville Post Office

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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 […]

97-18 Monroe Street Cemetery / Ohio City

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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 […]

96-18 Olmsted Falls L.S. & M.S. Depot

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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 […]

94-18 First Universalist Church

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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, […]

93-18 Adams Street Cemetery

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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 […]

92-18 Brecksville Township’s First Settler

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In 1811, Colonel John Breck sent Seth Paine to survey a new township of the Western Reserve. Traveling from Massachusetts, the Paine family journeyed by wagon pulled by a team of oxen, a trip that took them forty-two days. For his compensation, Paine was given 200 acres of land that is now part of the […]

91-18 Parma’s Birthplace

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With the War of 1812 over, Benajah and Ruth Wilcox Fay and their ten children left Lewis County, New York for the state of Ohio. Like many, they were attracted to Ohio by the inexpensive, fertile land. Settling in Township 6, Range 13 of the Blake Tract of the Western Reserve, they represented the first […]

90-18 Erie Street Cemetery

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In 1826, when Cleveland’s first cemetery closed, Cleveland village trustees paid Leonard Case Sr. one dollar for eight acres of land and dedicated it as the Erie Street Cemetery. Built on what became prime property, the cemetery touched off a century long struggle between residents and local government. In 1836, trustees allotted space in the […]