| (10/08/08) - The City of Akron today
commemorated the 200th anniversary of the first settlement in what is now modern day
Akron, with the dedication of an Ohio Historic marker at the Middlebury Cemetery on Newton
Street in East Akron. 
This first burial ground in Akron was established in 1808
with a gift from Deacon Titus Chapman – who was also the first person interred there
when he died in November of that same year.
It was in August of 1808 that the first child of European
descent was born in a log cabin in what is now Akron - on Kent Street in the Middlebury
neighborhood. Eliza Hart was born to the founder of Middlebury, Captain Joseph Hart and
his wife Annie. (Captain Hart is buried in the Newton Street cemetery as well.)
"The people who came here 200 years ago were the
sturdiest frontier families," said Mayor Don Plusquellic. "They brought with
them from New England principles of faith and free enterprise that helped make Akron what
it is today."
"It’s also remarkable that they valued education
so greatly," said Plusquellic. "This backdrop of history reminds us that
Akron’s founders established the first free public school system in the United States
- right here in Akron - that included the first free high school education. And that was
in 1853! Can we do any less today by preparing our children for the 21st century with a
free education beyond high school?"
Plusquellic asked, urging support for Issue 8 on the
November 4 ballot that would create the Akron Scholarship Plan in the city charter.
The first industry in Middlebury - a millworks was founded
in 1807 by Captain Hart and Judge Aaron Norton. Their first manufactured product for sale
was corn meal and wheat flour, followed soon thereafter by mash whiskey. (Judge Norton and
his wife Abigail have elaborate gravestones in the Middlebury Cemetery marking their
resting places.)
A number of Revolutionary War soldiers are also interred in
the Middlebury Cemetery including Chapman, who fought the British in New York State.
Others include:
- William Neal, who died in 1842 and served five enlistments
in the Continental Army as a Private
- Thomas Sumner, who was in the battle of Saratoga under
General Gates in 1777. He died in 1825
- Hosea Wilcox Jr., a soldier, and his wife Abigail, who
served as a nurse in the Revolutionary War
Middlebury was the primary burial ground for residents of
the community until 1853.
The Ohio Historical Society marker was acquired through the
efforts of Progress Through Preservation. Steve France, president of PTP, acknowledged the
efforts of retired librarian Ruth Clinefelter, who wrote a history of the cemetery in 2003
and championed the cause for the marker to be placed.
The City acquired the Middlebury Cemetery property in 1923
after the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution agreed to erect a
permanent fence around it and agreed to maintain it as long as it could do so. A plaque to
mark their contribution disappeared many years ago, but the boulder on which it was
affixed remains.
The City continues to maintain the property.
TEXT OF THE HISTORIC MARKER
Middlebury Cemetery
This burying ground was the first public cemetery located
within Akron’s boundaries. It was also known as the "Old Cemetery" and the
"Newton Street Cemetery." Deacon Titus Chapman donated this land in 1808 as a
burying ground, and he was probably the first person interred here when he died later that
year. Early Akron settlers and their descendants, including veterans of the American
Revolution, are buried here. Some of the gravestones were among the finest brought to the
Western Reserve from Connecticut. The Middlebury Cemetery was used until 1853.
Progress Through Preservation
The Ohio Historical Society |
END |
