Westlake's First Settler /                                                        

Leverett Johnson.
Born in Connecticut in 1794, Leverett Johnson came to Dover
Township with his brother-in-law and sister Asahel and
Rebecca Johnson Porter on October 10, 1810. In 1811 at the
age of 16, he began clearing land in what is now Westlake.
In 1814 he built a log house at Porter and Center Ridge
roads for his bride Abigail Cahoon. They raised nine
children and lived here the rest of their lives. Johnson
was a prominent citizen of Dover Township, serving as a
justice of the peace, a township treasurer and trustee, a
Cuyahoga County commissioner and a five-term Ohio state legislator,
and as the first director of Dover Academy, a local school. Leverett
died on April 19, 1856 at home. He donated part of his land for
Evergreen Cemetery, where he, Abigail, and many of the pioneers
of Westlake are buried.

Evergreen cemetery, located on Center Ridge Road in Westlake
west of Porter Road, was founded about 1820 on land
donated by
Leverett Johnson and several others. The cemetery's approximately 16 acres
is burial place for many of the American pioneers who cleared
the land and settled in the area. They include Asher and Lydia
Cooley; Jedediah, Sarah and Noah Crocker; Daniel Follett; Rial
Holden; Leverett and Abigail Johnson; Ebenezer, Aurelia, Nehemiah,
Rebekah, Wells and Philena Porter; Abner,



Rebecca, Isaac, Betsey,
John and Jonathan Smith: Amos, Dorcas, Hannah, Amos R. and Ruth
Sperry; Joseph and Jane Stocking; and Jasher, John and Abigail
Taylor. Owned and maintained by the city of Westlake, Evergreen
Cemetery has had more than 3,800 interments as of 2011.

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Butternut Ridge Cemetery 1835

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