Also known as Cleveland Village cemetery actual Map image of 1801 on Adolphus Spafford's memorial.

Cleveland was still a village when it created the cemetery on Ontario Street, Established on June 4. 1797 for the first burial of David Eldridge, who drowned while crossing the Grand River on June 3, 1797. starting at the south end of the Bailey Co., and extending half way to Huron Road. Today the Tilted Kilt Pub, Ontario Street Cafe with the 10 level parking garage above at 2025 Ontario Street are built on the site. When Prospect was cut through in the early 1830s, and the Horseshoe Casino garage is on the south part of the cemetery. Rumor has that bones were found when building the garage in 2014. In 1826 some of the graves were removed to Erie Street Cemetery. One or two rest in Lake View Cemetery. Other graves are in Harvard Grove Cemetery in Newburg, in Euclid Township Cemetery, in remote spots far out Euclid Avenue; on Shaker Heights; in Fairveiw Cemetery of old Rockport, now Lakewood; Bay Village, Brecksville, Dover, Royalton and other places. In 1839 the rest of the graves were relocated to Erie Street cemetery.

Famous People 1st burial

Nathan Perry, Sr., Private in frontier defense of Lake Champlain. Born 1760, and died in 1813. Founder of the Perry Family and father of Nathan Perry, whose home stood on Euclid Ave. Associate Common Pleas Judge in 1810. First buried in Ontario Street Burying Ground, removed to Erie Street, and rests in Lake View Cemetery.

David Eldridge (died 3 June 1797) is the earliest known person of European descent to die in the Western Reserve, and the first person to be buried in the newly created city of Cleveland. One of the employees of the Connecticut Land Company, he drowned at about 11:00am on June 3, 1797, while attempting to swim his horse across the Grand River, despite being strongly advised to the contrary. He was nearly an hour in the water, before his body could be pulled out. Boats were put into the river, and Rev. Seth Hart, superintendent of the surveying party, used every precaution to save him, without effect. His corpse was brought to the Cuyahoga River.

On the morning of June 4, a piece of land was selected for burial, on the north parts of lot 97 and 98, between Prospect and Huron streets, on the east side of Ontario street. Members of the party used wooden boards to build a strong box for a coffin. They placed him in, and strung the box on a pole with cords, to carry him up to the burial ground. A funeral service was held, and a fence was built around the grave. He was one of three in the surveying party to die that season; William Andrews and Peleg Washburn both died of dysentery at Cleveland, in August or September, and were buried next to Eldridge. The original burial ground was moved to Erie Street in 1835. His remains are now located in the Erie Street Cemetery in Cleveland. In the early 2000s, while improvements were being made to buildings currently on the original location of his burial, human bones were discovered - Photographs of some of the headstones are on Erie Streets cemetery page.