Harper Family Cemetery
Photo added by Elinor Johnson

Harper Family Cemetery

Also known as Old Rockside Cemetery , Valley View Cemetery , Harper-MacArthur Cemetery

Independence, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA

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  • Get directions Old Rockside Rd.
    Independence, Ohio, USA
    Coordinates: 41.39475, -81.62492
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Information from Ohio Cemetery Preservation Society (copyright 2003) as recorded by Laura Palcisko:
The cemetery originated as a family plot on land purchased by John I. And Amanda Harper in 1816 as a 110 acre parcel east of the river bank. It was traditionally known as the Harper Family Cemetery or the Old Rockside Cemetery. John I. Harper extended its use to others. From 1825-1827 construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal cut through John I. Harper's property. Local oral tradition stated that canal workers who died of swamp fever were buried there and estimates of up to 100 people may be buried there.

The cemetery was nearly extinct. Floods, erosion, farming and commercial development as well as neglect had taken a heavy toll.

In 2000 with new commercial development unknowingly encroaching on the burial ground, the Village of Valley View, under Mayor Randall Westfall enclosed the burial ground with a split rail fence. On April 26, 2003 the Bicentennial Committee of the Village of Valley View erected a sign and dedicated the Harper-McArthur Cemetery.




Information from Ohio Cemetery Preservation Society (copyright 2003) as recorded by Laura Palcisko:
The cemetery originated as a family plot on land purchased by John I. And Amanda Harper in 1816 as a 110 acre parcel east of the river bank. It was traditionally known as the Harper Family Cemetery or the Old Rockside Cemetery. John I. Harper extended its use to others. From 1825-1827 construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal cut through John I. Harper's property. Local oral tradition stated that canal workers who died of swamp fever were buried there and estimates of up to 100 people may be buried there.

The cemetery was nearly extinct. Floods, erosion, farming and commercial development as well as neglect had taken a heavy toll.

In 2000 with new commercial development unknowingly encroaching on the burial ground, the Village of Valley View, under Mayor Randall Westfall enclosed the burial ground with a split rail fence. On April 26, 2003 the Bicentennial Committee of the Village of Valley View erected a sign and dedicated the Harper-McArthur Cemetery.




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  • Added: 23 Feb 2015
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2570370