Washington Street Cemetery (Extinct)

            Washington Street Cemetery was located on West Washington Street, originally occupying sublots 51, 52, 76, and 77 of the Kerr, Cole & Others Survey. The history of the Liberty Street Cemetery indicates that its graves were moved to the Washington Street Cemetery in 1821. Later sublots 49 (west half), 50, 74 (west half), and 75 were added to the cemetery. This site is now east of Harvey High School and occupied by a parking lot and field.

            The history of the cemetery is clouded. On August 4^th, 1857, a fire swept through the buildings on the south side of Main Street, from South St. Clair Street to South State Street. Here was located the office of the Town of Painesville and many of the official records were destroyed, including those of the cemetery. The surviving Sexton books only date back to July, 1847.

            By the 1850s the cemetery was filling up and the search for a new site began. In July, 1852, the Corporation of Painesville purchased seven acres about a three quarters of a mile west of the village square on the north side of Mentor Avenue, “for the deposit of the earthly remains of the dead.” However it proved to be unsuitable for a cemetery; “the soil is gravely, the ground badly located, and access to it difficult – it is impossible to dig to the depth of over three feet without curbing.” Another push for a new burial ground was made in June, 1855, but it too resulted in nothing. In March, 1859, the Village Council held several well attended meetings on finding a suitable location. A committee was appointed. It reported that a site had been found “on the bank a little below the Old Geauga Mill, on the opposite side of the River,” and recommended its purchase. The editor of the Painesville Telegraph in the issue of March 24^th, 1859, rejoiced, “So we are to have, without doubt, a New Cemetery, – and so we should have.”

            After the opening of Evergreen Cemetery in January, 1860, burials continued at the old cemetery. There were almost a hundred burials before this activity ceased. The last recorded burial was that of Delia Seeley (Mrs. Ezra Seeley), aged 76 years. Unfortunately the sexton did not record the date, though it probably occurred in the summer of 1865.*

            Beginning in 1860 lot owners were encouraged to remove their loved ones to Evergreen Cemetery or some other cemetery. It appears that no records were kept of these removals. And those reinterred in Evergreen Cemetery were not entered in the Sexton’s books.

            Over the years the cemetery fell into disrepair. The editor of the Painesville Telegraph in the issue of September 26^th, 1867, observed: “In passing along Washington street a few days ago, we were unpleasantly affected by the whole appearance of the old cemetery. The fences are all going to ruin – the walks are all overgrown with grass and weeds, and the lots, where still lie a vary large proportion of those formerly buried there, were full of weeds and grass, and presented an appearance altogether disgraceful to both the village authorities and the owners of the lots and friends of the dead.” He suggested that “either some arrangement made by which all the remaining dead should be transferred to the new ground across the river, and the whole place be entirely vacated, or the friends of the dead still left there should clean up and care for their lots, and the city authorities should put the walks and fences in good repair and keep them so. “

            In the fall of 1877 Sexton Tomas Smith was again asking for the removal of the remains of those interred here to Evergreen Cemetery.

            The editor of the Painesville newspaper called the Northern Ohio Journal in the issue of October 26^th, 1878, wrote: “For a long time the Washington Street Cemetery has been permitted, from a combination of causes, to remain in a sadly neglected and dilapidated condition. Within the past two weeks, however, the work of cleaning and pruning has been undertaken and completed, so that now the grounds present a creditable appearance. The few remaining gravestones have been buried two feet deep, the paths trimmed and the undergrowth cut down and carted away.” A plat of the grounds showing where every stone was buried was made by L.K. Pierson, to enable anyone later to locate the graves. The grounds were then used as a park. When the park became the site of football games in the fall of 1892 and baseball games in spring of 1893, there were complaints and the sports were discontinued.

            In the early 1890s the Painesville Board of Education saw the need to build a new high school. The vacant land where the Washington Street Cemetery had been attracted their attention. The Village council transferred the property to the school board on December 5^th, 1896, and they began the process of transforming “a wasted place into a beautiful site for a new high School building.” Since that time the land where the Washington Street Cemetery had been has been part of the high school grounds.

            The fact that some of the graves had never been removed has periodically come back to haunt school officials.

            [Ed. Notes] Another article from the Painesville Telegraph of possible interest:

26 Mar 1851 pg. 3 “Home Affairs” regarding ladies committee for adorning the burying ground

Gary G. pointed out that the March 8th, 1866 issue of The Telegraph states on page 3, under "DIED", "In Painesville, February 15, Mrs. Delia SEELY, aged 79 years."

Painesville

Washington Street Cemetery

These are not stone readings, but taken from a list made at the time of burying the stones

Name

Sec- tion

Row

Stone #

Inscription

Symbols

Comments

 Shorks, Lydia Ann Clark

1

1

1

Lydia Ann Clark, wife of J. Shorks

Stone buried in 1874

 Blanpheer, Curtis

1

1

2

Curtis Blanpheer

Stone buried in 1874

 Bates, Nathaniel

1

1

3

Nathaniel Bates

Stone buried in 1874

 Glover, Win

1

1

4

Win Glover

Stone buried in 1874

 Paine, Mary E.

1

1

5

Mary E. Paine

Stone buried in 1874

 Root, Geo. N.

 Root, Anastasia

1

1

6

Anastasia and Geo. N. Root

 Paine, Eleazer

1

1

7

Eleazer Paine

Stone buried in 1874, remains moved to Evergreen

 Paine, Aurel

1

1

8

Aurel Paine

Stone buried in 1874, but not interred here.

 Paine, Aurel

1

1

9

Aurel Paine, daughter of Aurel Paine

Stone buried in 1874

 Bagley, Henry H.

1

1

10

Henry H. Bagley

Stone buried in 1874

 Adams, Mary L.

1

1

11

Mary L. Adams

Stone buried in 1874

 Tracy, Benjamin F.

1

1

12

Benjamin F. Tracy

Stone buried in 1874

 Mansfield, Harriet H.

1

1

13

Harriet N. Mansfield

Stone buried in 1874

 Smith, Ephraim

1

1

14

Ephraim Smith

Stone buried in 1874

 Griffith, Samuel

1

1

15

Samuel Griffith

Stone buried in 1874

 French, Seba

1

1

16

French, Seba

Stone buried in 1874

 Roberts, Tabitha

1

1

17

Tabitha, wife of J. Roberts

Stone buried in 1874

 Warren, Eliza

1

1

18

Eliza Warren

Stone buried in 1874

 Kneep, Christian

1

1

19

Christian Kneep

Stone buried in 1874

 How, Elizabeth

1

1

20

Elizabeth How

Stone buried in 1874

 Whiting, _illey

1

1

21

_illey Whiting

Stone buried in 1874

 Gill, Thos. A.

1

1

22

Thos. A. Gill

Stone buried in 1874

 Kingsbury, Dorthea

1

1

23

Mrs. Dorthea Kingsbury

Stone buried in 1874

 Granger, Hannah

1

1

24

Mrs. Hanna Granger

Stone buried in 1874

 Shultz, Win. H.

1

1

25

Win H. Shultz

Stone buried in 1874

 Seeley, Ira

1

1

26

Ira Seeley

Stone buried in 1874

 Pepoon, Joseph

1

1

27

Joseph Pepoon

Stone buried in 1874

 Tracy, B. F. Jr.

1

1

28

B. F. Tracy, Jr.

Stone buried in 1874

 Newman, Andrew

1

1

29

Andrew Newman

Stone buried in 1874

 Manley, Mary Ann

1

1

30

Mary Ann Manley

Stone buried in 1874

 French, Mary E.

1

1

31

Mary E. French, wife of ___ French

Stone buried in 1874

 French, Warren

1

1

32

Warren French

Stone buried in 1874

 Durand, Edgar

1

1

33

Edgar Durand

Stone buried in 1874

 Tool, James C.

1

1

34

James C. Tool

Stone buried in 1874

 Fogle, Catherine

1

1

35

Catherine Fogle

Stone buried in 1874

 How, Edmund

1

1

36

Edmund How

Stone buried in 1874

 Gray, Henry

1

1

37

Henry Gray

Stone buried in 1874

 Duty, Sally

1

1

38

Sally, wife of E. Duty

Stone buried in 1874

 Stephens, Jonathan

1

1

39

Jonathan Stephens

Stone buried in 1874

 Kingsbury, H.

1

1

40

H. Kingsbury

Stone buried in 1874

 Granger, Sarah

1

1

41

Sarah Granger

Stone buried in 1874

 Phelps, Milo

1

1

42

Milo Phelps

Stone buried in 1874

 Ladd, Mary H.

1

1

43

Mary H. Ladd

Stone buried in 1874

 Mulligan, John

 Mulligan, Julia

1

1

44

John and Julia Mulligan

Stone buried in 1874

 Pepoon, Charles A.

 Pepoon, Florence H.

1

1

45

Charles A. and Florence H. Pepoon

Stone buried in 1874

 Tracy, Agnes

1

1

46

Agnes Tracy

Stone buried in 1874

 Nutt, Elizabeth

1

1

47

Elizabeth Nutt

Stone buried in 1874

 Durand, Caroline

1

1

48

Caroline, wife of Edgar Durand

Stone buried in 1874

 K, M. A.

1

1

49

M. A. K.

Stone buried in 1874

 R., Mr.

1

1

50

Mr. R.

Stone buried in 1874

 Tear, Christian

1

1

51

Christian Tear

Stone buried in 1874

 How, Abigail

1

1

52

Abigail, wife of E. How

Stone buried in 1874

 How, Mary Ann

1

1

53

Mary Ann How

Stone buried in 1874

 Hyde, Persis

1

1

54

Persis, wife of A. P. Hyde

Stone buried in 1874

 Smith, E. Lizzie

1

1

55

E. Lizzie Smith

Stone buried in 1874

 Hill, Lucy

1

1

56

Lucy Hill

Stone buried in 1874

 Button, Clara

1

1

57

Clara, wife of Solon Button

Stone buried in 1874

 Briggs, Jerome

1

1

58

Jerome Briggs

Stone buried in 1874

 Hitchcock, Betsey

1

1

59

Betsey Hitchcock

Stone buried in 1874

 Brooks, Rebecca

1

1

60

Rebecca, wife of Thomas Brooks

Stone buried in 1874

 Cable, Marian

1

1

61

Marian Cable

Stone buried in 1874

 Cable, Alvah Jr.

1

1

62

Alvah Cable, Jr.

Stone buried in 1874

 Greer, Sarah

1

1

63

Sarah, wife of Thomas Greer

Stone buried in 1874

 Hotchkiss, Susannah

1

1

64

Susannah Hotchkiss

Stone buried in 1874

 Crofts, Christopher

1

1

65

Christopher Crofts

Stone buried in 1874

 Craig, Child

 Craig, Child

 Craig, Child

1

1

66

Three children of O. M. Craig

Stone buried in 1874

 Gilbert, Stephen

 Gilbert, Sarah M.

1

1

67

Stephen and Sarah M. Gilbert

Stone buried in 1874

 Maltbie, Daniel

 Maltbie, Charity

 Maltbie, Albert

 Maltbie, Franklin

 Maltbie, Alfred

1

1

68

Daniel, Charity, Albert, Franklin and Alfred Maltbie

Stone buried in 1874

 Bean, Hazen

1

1

69

Hazen Bean

Stone buried in 1874

 Smith, Marcus

1

1

70

Marcus Smith

Stone buried in 1874

 Handy, Delight

1

1

71

Delight, wife of John Handy

Stone buried in 1874

 Emerson, Laura

1

1

72

Laura Emerson

Stone buried in 1874

 Emerson, Jesse

1

1

73

Jesse Emerson

Stone buried in 1874

 Emerson, Adeline

1

1

74

Adeline Emerson

Stone buried in 1874

 Emerson, Lucy

1

1

75

Lucy, wife of A Emerson

Stone buried in 1874

 Stuart, W. Edward

1

1

76

W Edward Stuart

Stone buried in 1874

 *, Inez N. Y.

1

1

77

Intz, N. Y. ____cp.

Stone buried in 1874

 Edwards, Pierpont

1

1

78

Pierpont Edwards

Stone buried in 1874

 Clayton, Rachel

1

1

79

Rachel Clayton

Stone buried in 1874

 *, Charlotte

1

1

80

Charlote, wife and mother

Stone buried in 1874

 Edwards, Otis

1

1

81

Otis Edwards

Stone buried in 1874

 Abbott, Sally

1

1

82

Sally, wife of Elisha Abbott

Stone buried in 1874

 Fossett, Mary

2

1

1

Mary, Wife of Frederick Fossett

Stone buried in 1878

 Merriman, Adeline

2

1

2

Adeline, wife of Wm. Merriman

Stone buried in 1878

 Waldo, Hannah

2

1

3

Hannah, wife of Joseph Waldo

Stone buried in 1878

2

1

4

unmarked stone buried in 1878

 Drew, Helen

2

1

5

Helen Drew

Stone buried in 1878

 Paine, Edward, Gen.

2

1

6

Gen. Edward Paine

Stone buried in 1878

 Criswell, Archibald

2

1

7

Archibald Criswell

Stone buried in 1878

 Paine, Charles E.

2

1

8

Charles E. Paine

Stone buried in 1878

 Stickney, Chas. W.

2

1

9

Chas. W. Stickney

Stone buried in 1878

 Houk, Samuel W. P.

2

1

10

Samuel W. P. Houk

Stone buried in 1878

 Taylor, Albert

2

1

11

Albert Taylor

Stone buried in 1878

 McDowell, J. R.

2

1

12

J. R. McDowell

Stone buried in 1878

 Blake, Alphonson

2

1

13

Alphonson Blake

Stone buried in 1878

 Waldo, William R.

2

1

14

William R. Waldo

Stone buried in 1878

 Kniffen, Jno.

2

1

15

Jno. Kniffen

Stone buried in 1878

 Galloway, Ann

2

1

16

Ann, wife of Harvey Galloway

Stone buried in 1878

 Pockton, Overton

2

1

17

Overton Pockton

Stone buried in 1878

 Paine, Charlotte

2

1

18

Charlotte, wife of Maj. J. W. Paine

Stone buried in 1878

 Bascom, Ferdinand D.

2

1

19

Ferdinand D. Bascom

Stone buried in 1878

 Stickney, Chas. E.

2

1

20

Chas. E. Stickney

Stone buried in 1878

 Knapp, Aurellia

2

1

21

Aurelia, wfie of M. L. Knapp

Stone buried in 1878

 Root, Ninson G.

2

1

22

Ninson G. Root

Stone buried in 1878

 Encell, Eugene

2

1

23

Eugene Encell

Stone buried in 1878

 Pepoon, ?

2

1

24

___ Pepoon

Stone buried in 1878

 Weaver, Elizabeth

2

1

25

Elizabeth Weaver

Stone buried in 1878

 Waldo, Joseph

2

1

26

Joseph Waldo

Stone buried in 1878

 Kniffen, Obadiah

2

1

27

Obadiah Kniffen

Stone buried in 1878

 Miluret, Eno.

2

1

28

Miluret Eno.

Stone buried in 1878

 Couch, Nellie

2

1

29

Nellie Couch

Stone buried in 1878

 Thomas, Adelaide

2

1

30

Adelaide Thomas

Stone buried in 1878

 *, Emma Jane

2

1

31

Emma Jane.

Stone buried in 1878

 Houk, Tummar A.

2

1

32

Tummar A. Houk

Stone buried in 1878

 Cook, Lyman, Dr.

2

1

33

Dr. Lyman Cook

Stone buried in 1878

 Miryan, John

2

1

34

John Miryan

Stone buried in 1878