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Graves of settlers and soldiers of Middlebury in first public cemetery
By Carl Chancellor
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Oct 09, 2008
Despite the chilly weather and rain, Ruth Clinefelter declared it a ''beautiful day.''
Standing under an umbrella, Clinefelter joined nearly 75 others Wednesday morning in a postage stamp of a cemetery on Newton Street to unveil an Ohio Historic Marker commemorating the old burial ground and the 200th anniversary of the founding of Middlebury, Akron's first settlement.
''I'm just delighted today. After all these years, rain or not, we're here to officially recognize the first public cemetery inside the present-day boundaries of Akron,'' said Clinefelter, a professor emeritus of history and a member of Progress Through Preservation, which researched the cemetery and purchased the marker.
Clinefleter, who wrote a history of the cemetery in 2003 and championed the cause for the marker, noted that thegravemarkers were ''some of the finest'' brought to the Western Reserve, transported all the way from Connecticut.
Mayor Don Plusquellic presided over the ceremony, which was opened to a ''rat-a-tat-tat'' drum beat and the presentation of the colors, including a colonial flag by the Sons of the American Revolution.
''Several Revolutionary War vets are buried here,'' Plusquellic said.
The land for the Middlebury Cemetery — also known as the Old Cemetery or the Newton Street Cemetery — was a gift of one of the area's first non-native settlers, Titus Chapman in 1808.
Chapman, who fought in the Revolutionary War, was also the first person buried there.
Dozens of Akron's settlers, including six veterans of the American Revolution, are buried in the cemetery, which was used until 1853.
The city acquired the cemetery in 1923 from the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
''The people who came here 200 years ago were the sturdiest frontier families. They brought with them from New England principles of faith and free enterprise that helped make Akron what it is today,'' Plusquellic said.
The village of Middlebury, which was founded by Capt. Joseph Hart and Judge Aaron Norton, centered on a millworks that sold wheat flour and cornmeal. Middlebury was annexed into Akron in 1872.
Not missing an opportunity to push his ''sewers for scholarship'' plan on the November ballot, Plusquellic noted that Akron's founders ''so valued education'' that in 1840, it was ''the first community to start a free school education for everyone to use.'' He said Akron was also the first community in the United States to offer free high school education.
Carl Chancellor can be reached at 330-996-3725 or cchancellor@thebeaconjournal.com.
Despite the chilly weather and rain, Ruth Clinefelter declared it a ''beautiful day.''
Get the full article here.
Comments
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somewhere near you, OH
Posted 08:58 AM, 10/09/2008
If you are going to talk about Middlebury so much, it would be nice to know where it was located and the boundaries were.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:17 AM, 10/09/2008
Fact check: Those "scholarships" won't be free. Bad form for the mayor to use this occasion for his bully pulpit.
south of Akron, NO
Posted 10:30 AM, 10/09/2008
NO education is FREE, goober Plusquellic! People pay thru the nose for it.
south of Akron, NO
Posted 10:31 AM, 10/09/2008
besides, Obama is an idiot.
Akron, OH
Posted 03:25 PM, 10/09/2008
Better hire those Sons of the Revolution to protect that shiny new marker from a Sawzall attack.
Posted 08:12 AM, 10/10/2008
Middlebury pre-dates Akron.For many years it was part of Tallmadge Township Though it was there before Tallmage existed . It was located around Case ave where the Little Cuyahoga river Passes through. The river provided the energy to power mills. It was all about Industry. There were several Grain Mills. The problem was that they didn't have the transportation to ship the processed grain so this resulted in all the distillers and saloons. They even had a steel mill that was located near River Street (close to Goodyear). Middlebury Died When the Ohio/Erie Canal was constructed in the early 19th century.
