Our Local Cemeteries

One of the first things which needed to be established in communities founded in the early days of the Western Reserve was a dedicated public burial ground. Prior to public cemeteries, families often buried their deceased on parts of the family farm. Unfortunately, the property would be sold out of the family and then there would be no one to maintain the burial sites or even remember their location. The area that was the original Boston Township (now Boston Township, Peninsula Village, Boston Heights Village, and a small section of Northfield Center Township) had six distinct cemeteries in its borders.

Cedar Grove Cemetery, circa 1905
(Courtesy of the Peninsula Library & Historical Society)

The Union Cemetery Association of Boston Township & Peninsula was formed in 1942 to operate and maintain both the Boston Cemetery and the Cedar Grove Cemetery. Boston Cemetery, at the end of Main Street in Boston, is believed by some to have been the location of a Native American burial site. The earliest known burial in Boston Cemetery occurred in 1814. The Boston Moral Society (which has evolved over the years into the Peninsula United Methodist Church) was organized in 1833 to "establish religious worship and strive for moral improvement." One of the first tasks of the Moral Society was to improve the burying ground which had been donated to Boston Township by the Stanford family who had arrived in Boston Township in 1806. The Boston Cemetery is the resting place of some of the first residents of the township, including notorious counterfeiter Jim Brown.

Cedar Grove Cemetery, circa 1905
(Courtesy of the Peninsula Library & Historical Society)

Cedar Grove Cemetery is on land that was once owned by the Bronson family. Although they owned the land much earlier, the Bronsons did not arrive in Boston Township until 1824 in order to capitalize on the coming of the Ohio & Erie Canal. Hermon Bronson first deeded the land to Boston Township in 1836, but reserved the right to graze cattle on any part of the cemetery that was "unoccupied." In 1850, the Bronsons re-deeded this land to Boston Township free and clear of any grazing rights. The earliest known burial in Cedar Grove Cemetery occurred in 1824. A Gothic stone mausoleum was constructed in Cedar Grove in 1879 for the sum of $1425. Those who passed away during the winter would rest here until the ground could thaw in the spring. Since many of the mausoleum's original features remained, the Union Cemetery board restored this remarkable building in time for its 125th anniversary in 2004. Cedar Grove Cemetery is also an important link to the community's Civil War heritage. A total of 141 brave men from Boston Township enlisted to serve in the Civil War. There are over fifty veterans of the Civil War buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery with twenty-five of these men dying in service to their country. Cedar Grove Cemetery also houses the Civil War cannon which was refurbished in 1988 and the Boston Township Soldiers' Monument which was donated by Colonel Arthur Latham Conger and his wife, the former Emily Bronson, in 1889 to honor the community's Civil War veterans. The Monument was moved to the cemetery from the intersection of Route 303 and Riverview Road in 1932.

Boston Cemetery, circa 1905
(Courtesy of the Peninsula Library & Historical Society)

Fairview Cemetery, northeast of the intersection of Olde Eight and Boston Mills Roads, is maintained by the Village of Boston Heights and the Fairview Cemetery Association. Fairview Cemetery is on land that was once owned by Alfred Wolcott, who arrived in Boston Township in 1806. Fairview Cemetery has also been known as the State Road Cemetery and the Miller's Corners Cemetery. The earliest recorded burial in Fairview Cemetery occurred in 1822, but the cemetery was not laid out into graves until 1865. In 1890, the Ladies' Cemetery Association of State Road (later the Fairview Cemetery Association) was formed to raise money to pay for Memorial Day activities. This group met twice a month to make quilts to sell with the proceeds going to the benefit of the cemetery. The Village of Boston Heights assumed care and maintenance of Fairview Cemetery after the village was incorporated in 1925. However, during the land acquisition phase of the Route 8 improvements in 2006 it was discovered that the title of Fairview Cemetery had never been transferred from Boston Township to the Village of Boston Heights, an oversight which was remedied that same year.

Boston Cemetery, circa 1905
(Courtesy of the Peninsula Library & Historical Society)

Mater Dolorosa Cemetery, formerly in Boston Township but now in the Village of Boston Heights, is the Catholic cemetery for the parish of the same name which has been anglicized to Mother of Sorrows. Located just east of the drive into Happy Days Lodge, Mater Dolorosa Cemetery contains about twenty-five graves. Also known as Cassidy Cemetery, burials took place here from 1864 until 1899. One of those memorialized at Mater Dolorosa Cemetery is Thomas C. Coady. Coady, who enlisted with the 115th O.V.I. during the Civil War, had just been released from a Confederate prison camp and was on his way home on the Sultana. The Sultana exploded and sank on its way up the Mississippi River in 1865, claiming over 1800 lives. Mater Dolorosa is owned and maintained by the Diocese of Cleveland.

Cedar Grove Cemetery Civil War Cannon, circa 1905
(Courtesy of the Peninsula Library & Historical Society)

The Everett Cemetery was a family burial ground which was never officially dedicated. Everett Cemetery is on Everett Road just west of the intersection with Oak Hill Road. The cemetery is located on land once owned by Alanson Swan who arrived in the area in the 1820s. The earliest known burial in the Everett Cemetery was William B. Swan who died in 1847, however it is possible that there were burials here before that date. The land containing the Everett Cemetery was later owned by the Chamberlin family which is the reason why this cemetery is sometimes referred to as Chamberlin Cemetery. The Chamberlin and Miers families were granted permission to exhume the remains of their family members and re-inter them in Cedar Grove in 1898. Everett Cemetery gradually fell into ruin and by the 1930s only about half of the burials were known. Today the land containing the Everett Cemetery is owned by the National Park Service.

Cedar Grove Cemetery, circa 1905
(Courtesy of the Peninsula Library & Historical Society)

Brandywine Cemetery, another undedicated family burial plot, was located along Brandywine Road near Brandywine Creek. Very little is known of the burials in this cemetery, but since Brandywine was a thriving community before the 1820s, it is possible that there were some early burials here. In order to make a more contiguous school sub-district, this area was set off from Boston Township and attached to Northfield Township sometime before 1820. It is possible that, like in Everett, some burials were removed in the late 1890s to a nearby larger public cemetery. In this case the public cemetery would be the Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery. Eventually this cemetery would have been within the boundaries of Northfield Center Township. During the construction of Interstate 271 in the 1960s, any remains that could be found were transferred to the Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery where there is a monument honoring those who had been buried at Brandywine.