Our History
The first known burial, that of Abram Cranmer in 1812, in what is today Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery occurred 35 years before the land was deeded for cemetery use. The first record of a Sexton being appointed to care for the cemetery was in 1842. A tornado hit the cemetery in 1953. Several large trees were uprooted and many tall monuments toppled. In 1971, the Cemetery Assn. provided a monument in memory of early settlers whose remains were moved here when the Brandywine Cemetery was abolished to make way for Interstate 271.
The cemetery is located in the Village of Northfield, Summit County, Ohio, and is # 11527 (Northfield Cemetery / Macedonia Cemetery / Chesnut Hill Cemetery / Northfield Macedonia Cemetery) in “Ohio Cemeteries 1803-2003”, compiled by the Ohio Genealogical Society.
The cemetery is registered with the Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing (ODRE) as Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery with registration license number CGR.0000980518.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) feature ID for the cemetery is 1043987 (Northfield - Macedonia Cemetery / Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery).
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HISTORY OF THE NORTHFIELD-MACEDONIA CEMETERY COMPILED BY
JOHN B. HUDGEON
1967
Unfortunately for the purpose of the modern historian, the early settlers of Summit County and especially Northfield Township left no written record of their experiences -- only meager accounts contained in letters and recorded in journals have been left to give succeeding generations an idea of what took place in the early settings of the Township. This we find
true in regard to the history of the Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery.
History tells us that the first settlers in Northfield Township were Isaac Bacon and family who came from Massachusetts in April, 1897. He built his log cabin on a spot that is now Route 631, about one mile west of County Highway 16.
The next family to arrive was that of Jeremiah Cranmer in June, 1810. Records show that Mr. Isaac Bacon died November, 1812, and was buried on the banks of Tinker's Creek1.
There seems to be some disagreement as to when the first burial in the now present Northfield- Macedonia Cemetery took place and who it was. There are no records available. We find that the marker with the oldest date to be that of Abram Cranmer (9-8-1812). This was 35 years before the land was deeded for cemetery use. The record of transfer of deeds, Summit County volume 13, page 75, year 1847, shows that 1.5 acres were acquired for cemetery use on August 28, 1847, from William and June Lemmon. The Township Trustees at the time were David Bacon, Charles H. Johnson, and Elyah Stores. George Lille was J. P. The 1.5 acres were located in Northfield Township, Number 5 in the eleventh range of Township in the Connecticut Western Reserve, in the State of Ohio, and which is also in the County of Summit and is known as being a part of Lot 44. This spot or place was selected because it was high and dry. It was given the name of Chestnut Hill Cemetery. It was known by this name until some time between July, 1918, and April 1919, when the name was changed to its present name of Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery2.
In 1847, there were many other burial places in the Township. There was a cemetery at Brandywine, and, according to local residents, the bodies were moved from there to Northfield- Macedonia Cemetery in the latter part of the 1890's or early part of 1900. There were cemeteries at Little York as well as private plots on private farms. There were burial grounds on the Methodist Church land and also on the land owned by the Presbyterian Church at Boyden Road and Route 82. This was abandoned and the bodies were moved to the Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery because of the swampy conditions of the land.
On April 24, 1862, another piece of land, .38 acres were added to the cemetery from William M.
and Ellen J. Lemmon. The Township Trustees at that time were David C. Bacon, Parmenio Walcott, and William Nesbit, with John C. Wallace, J. P.3. Again in 1870, there were added 13 rods acquired from John Freeman. The Township Trustees were Parmenio Walcott, James Nesbit, and Summer Nash, with Henry Palmer, J.P. (Note: John Freeman made his mark before Henry W. Palmer and Betsy Lyons.)4.
William Lemmon in the year, 1881, sold to the Northfield Trustees -- W. Ranney, A.K. Richey, and G.L. Bishop, 0.67 acre. The J. P. was
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1. History of Summit County, Ohio, 1881
2. Minutes book of Cemetery Trustees, 1908-1919.
3. Record of Transfer of Deeds, Summit County, Vol. 45, page 27, 1862.
4. Record of Transfer of Deeds, Summit County, Vol. 71, page 469-470.