History
Blurred Lines
Cemetery History
Prior to 1852, the deceased were buried in the local churchyards of the village of Wooster and the surrounding vicinity. However, on July 12th, 1852 a number of prominent citizens of Wooster agreed to form a cemetery association. It would be named "The Wooster Cemetery Association" and for that purpose they signed and published a notice.
The association was organized by Kimball Porter, John Larwill, Cyrus Spink, John P. Coulter, Constant Lake, James Johnson, James Jacobs, E. Quinby, Jr., Henry Lehman, Lucas Flattery, Levi Cox, Eugene Pardee, Reason B. Stibbs, Horace Howard, and David Robison, on June 12th 1852, at which time Henry Lehman, James Johnson, Constant Lake, R. B. Stibbs, and E. Quinby, Jr., were elected Trustees, Lucas Flattery, Clerk, of the Association.
On May 25th 1853, The Association made its first purchase of land, buying 32 plus acres from Joseph Larwill. On August 31st of that year The Association purchased an additional one plus acre from Mr. Larwill. The first lots were available for sale to the public on November 25th, 1853. By 1880 The Association encompassed over 38 acres. Since then Wooster Cemetery has grown to near 100 acres, endeavoring to assure we can meet the needs of our community for years to come.
In 1874 a building was erected at the entrance to serve as an office and resident for the Superintendent. Within the next ten years, a chapel was built in the corner of section 12. Both buildings have undergone renovation and stand to this day.
In the early days of the Association, alongside burials of the recently deceased, a number of remains were reinterred at Wooster Cemetery from other local cemeteries (not an uncommon practice of the day). The by-laws and regulations are periodically updated with earlier printed versions of such including information on such reinternments, lot owners and more. Further information on the cemetery history may be found at the Wayne County library
A new By-laws & regulations booklet was published in 1904. This contained a fold-out map pictures of areas in the cemetery. Along with new and previous history, the booklet noted officers of the association up to 1904 who had served. In the list of burials 1853-1904, the total burials were listed at 5115. During the period of 1881 to 1904 the burials totaled from a low 93 in 1883 to 143 in 1887.
Further Cemetery history may be found at the Wayne County Library in Wooster, Ohio.
Blurred Lines
