Erie Street Cemetery today is located in the heart of downtown Cleveland, across the street from Progressive Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians baseball team. But when it was created back in 1826 it was just outside the boundary of the city. Over the next several posts, we are going to take a look at the cemetery and some of the famous folks that are buried there.
There are veterans from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War and the Spanish American War buried in the cemetery. There are several Indian chiefs including Chief Thunderwater and Joc-O-Sot. And many of Cleveland’s first residents including Lorenzo and Rebecca Carter are also buried there.
In the early 1900’s there was a push to move Erie Street Cemetery to make way for new streets and some bodies were even dug up and moved to Highland Park Cemetery. But in 1925, then city manager, William Hopkins ensured the survival by building the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge around the cemetery instead of through the cemetery.
Over time the cemetery has been victim to mother nature and vandals. It is estimated that about 8,000 bodies are buried there but many of the headstones are gone, damaged or severely weathered. It is still a peaceful place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and take a nice, quiet walk.
