When we finished taking some pictures at the schoolhouse, we started out for Berea. We stopped at Baldwin-Wallace College (soon to be Baldwin Wallace University!) and the "Baldwin University" marker in front of Wheeler Hall on North Campus. We were stunned by the beauty of the old stone building. Just lovely. They certainly don't build buildings like that any more. We headed to the south campus and found another marker for the "Lyceum Square". Another fantastic building! These old buildings are simply gorgeous. Across the street (nearly) is the First Congregational United Church of Christ. This church building is the textbook version of the "perfect" church (if only that is all that it took to have a perfect church... to be pretty!). The steeple is that perfectly patinaed copper (patinaed... I'm not sure that is a word... patinated???... there we go!), stunning stained glass windows and beautiful brick facade.
After our time at BW, we swung by the Berea Triangle. It was a darling little piece of land right in the heart of Berea. I learned that it has served many functions throughout the years, including a market for the farmers to sell their goods and the community water pump and trough. Now it serves as a little reminder of Berea's history and role in the development of not only Northeast Ohio, but the state and nation. I loved the tributes to the fallen Berea soldiers and all of the Bereans who served in the various wars in American history. There is a beautiful plaque with the names of the fallen and a wonderful statue commemorating those that served in the Civil War.
From the Triangle, we headed over to Coe Lake, which used to be the Berea sandstone quarries. Coe Lake is beautiful no matter what time of year it is. It is one of my favorite places in the area, and a fantastic place to take pictures (I took plenty of my hunky hubby!!). Looking out at the serenity of the pond, it is hard to imagine that there was ever a time where instead of this beautiful body of water, there was instead a booming rock quarry. We headed out from Coe Lake and to Adams Street Cemetery. This is one of the oldest cemeteries in the area, and as we found out, is kept locked at all times. I think this is due to the fact that there was an issue with vandalism some time ago, so the cemetery now falls under the watchful care of the local American Legion post. We learned that you can contact the American Legion post and it seems that arrangements can be made to be let in. We decided not to do that today, but it is on the list for the future! We did manage, however, to catch some great photos of the cemetery from outside the gate. It is quite lovely, and I am very excited to pay it a visit again sometime.
We made our way to our final stop for the day, Woodvale Union Cemetery. This was one of the few stops for the day, apart from Coe Lake, that really had a personal connection to us. Last year, we buried my uncle in this lovely cemetery, under a tall, beautiful tree. I was excited to go not only to visit his gravesite, but to explore the history to be found there. I was shocked to learn that this cemetery is hugely significant! Not only are the founders of Baldwin University and German Wallace College (the two schools that merged to form Baldwin-Wallace College) buried here, but also a number of prominent families and key figures in the development of Berea and Middleburg Hts.
We had such a great time exploring the Berea/Middleburg Hts. area... we can't wait to continue on our quest for rediscovering Ohio!
:) ABCS