Bicentennial event at cemetery celebrates old and new
On May 21, the city of Westlake and the Westlake Historical Society, as part of the Bicentennial celebration, dedicated the new fence at Evergreen Cemetery and took guests on a historical tour of the cemetery.
The beautiful sunny day was perfect weather for our fence dedication and Living History Tour. Evergreen Cemetery dates back to the 1820s on land given by Westlake's first settler, Leverett Johnson. The cemetery sits on over 16 acres of land and has 3,000 headstones.
Councilmember Mark Getsay spoke at the dedication and Rev. Dan Anthony from Rock Pointe Church led the fence blessing. Evan Kelleman and members of Boy Scout Troop 208 led the flag raising ceremony and laying of the wreath at the cemetery entrance.
Those on the tour visited the grave sites of Dover's pioneers and some of its earliest citizens. On the tour, guests were able to vist and get acquainted with: Leverett Johnson (portrayed by Zac Springer, Local History Specialist at Porter Library); Abigail Cahoon Johnson (Natalie Nurse, student at Baldwin Wallace College); Albinus Lilly (Dr. Jim Anderson); Dr. Celia Clemans (Ruth Ann Havasi, historical society treasurer); Asher Cooley (Dr. Tony Adamo); and Jedediah Crocker (William Krause, Assistant Planning Director for the City of Westlake).
The Westlake Historical Society's membership chair, Dave Pfister, played the role of Walter Clague. Mel Maurer, dressed as Leonard Porter, led the tour. Those on the tour also met "Laney," a friend of Sophronia Clague who was up visiting from Cincinnati. She was played by Lysa Stanton, Westlake Historical Society president
The Westlake Historical Society members enjoyed playing host to the visitors of Evergreen. Dozens of requests have come into the historical society to repeat this wonderful tour. The society hopes to make this an annual event.
Anyone wishing to get more information about the historical society or to join them as they educate and preserve Westlake's fine history, visit them the second Sunday of the month at the Clague Museum or check them out on the web at westlakeohiohistory.org.