 | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1850 |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Type | private |
| Size | 40 acres [1] |
| No. of graves | 9,000 [2] |
| Website | www.indian-hill.org |
| Find a Grave | Indian Hill Cemetery |
Indian Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 383 Washington Street in Middletown, Connecticut on a hill adjacent to Wesleyan University. [3]
The hill was originally named "Wunne Wah Jet" by the indigenous Wangunk people who lived in Middletown. [4] Sowheage, a grand sachem in the tribe, [5] built fortifications on the hill around 1639 to protect against enemy tribes and European settlers. Over time, the Wangunk sold much of the surrounding land to settlers but kept the hill parcel for themselves. The Wangunk and settlers lived peacefully together for many decades but the hill parcel was eventually sold to settlers in the late 1700s. [6]
The cemetery was developed as part of the City Beautiful movement which promoted the development of rural environments and landscapes for public spaces including cemeteries. After the yellow fever epidemic of 1841, rural cemeteries were thought to be more hygienic since they were located on the outskirts of cities. [2]
The Indian Hill Cemetery was organized June 11, 1850, under a general act of legislation passed in 1841. [7] The cemetery was dedicated on September 30, 1850, [4] and became the burial site of choice for Middletown's elite. [8]
The brownstone gothic revival Russell Chapel was built in 1867. Samuel Russell was a businessman who owned the Russell & Company trading business in Canton, China. [9] He was the first president of the Indian Hill Cemetery Association and the chapel was built by his wife in his memory. [1]
The chapel houses the original bell forged at the Troy, New York Meneely Bell Foundry in 1868. [9]
The chapel is listed on the Connecticut Register of Historic Places. [10]
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the college was the first institution of higher education to be named after John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. It is now a secular institution.
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settlers as a town under its original Native American name, Mattabeseck, after the local indigenous people, also known as the Mattabesett. They were among the many tribes along the Atlantic coast who spoke Algonquian languages. The colonists renamed the settlement in 1653.
Samuel Dickinson Hubbard was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut and the 15th U.S. Postmaster General.
Samuel Whittlesey Dana was an American lawyer and politician from Middletown, Connecticut. He represented Connecticut in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
Stewart Johonnot Oliver Alsop was an American newspaper columnist and political analyst.
Samuel Russell, was an American entrepreneur and trader, and founder of Russell & Company, the largest and most important American trading house in China from 1842 to its closing in 1891.
The Richard Alsop IV House is a historic house at 301 High Street in Middletown, Connecticut. Completed in 1839, the house is a distinctive example of transitional Greek Revival and Italianate architecture, and is nationally significant for the extremely well-preserved drawings on its interior walls. The site was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark on January 16, 2009. The house serves as the Davison Arts Center of Wesleyan University.
The Edward Augustus Russell House is a Greek Revival house on the Wesleyan University campus in Middletown, Connecticut, USA. The house, at 318 High Street, faces west from the east side of High Street north of the corner at High and Court Streets. A large wooded lawn extends to the Honors College property to the north. High Street between Church and Washington Streets was the most prestigious residential area in Middletown during the 19th century. It was later home to the KNK Fraternity of Wesleyan University. The structural system consists of load-bearing masonry with a flat roof, and materials include brick and flushboarding walls and a brownstone foundation.
The Samuel Russell House is a neoclassical house at 350 High Street in Middletown, Connecticut, built in 1828 to a design by architect Ithiel Town. Many architectural historians consider it to be one of the finest Greek Revival mansions in the northeastern United States. Town's client was Samuel Russell (1789-1862), the founder of Russell & Company, the largest and most important American firm to do business in the China trade in the 19th century, and whose fortunes were primarily based on smuggling illegal and addictive opium into China.
C. Everett "Ev" Bacon was an American football quarterback in college. He was also a star athlete in baseball, basketball, tennis, and golf.
Samuel Larkin Warner was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut, brother of Levi Warner.
The Mattabesett Trail is a 62-mile (100 km) long, hook-shaped blue-blazed hiking trail in central Connecticut and a part of the New England National Scenic Trail. One half of the trail follows the high traprock ridges of the Metacomet Ridge, from Totoket Mountain in Guilford, Connecticut, to Lamentation Mountain in Meriden, Connecticut, from south to north. This ridge is known for its biodiversity, miles of scenic cliffs, and rugged hiking. The second half of the trail extends north from Guilford to Middletown, Connecticut, and ends at the Connecticut River. Here, the trail follows an upland of metamorphic rock with occasional views and dense forests.
Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut is located at 453 Fairfield Avenue. It was designed by landscape architect Jacob Weidenmann (1829–1893) who also designed Hartford's Bushnell Park. Its first sections were completed in 1866 and the first burial took place on July 17, 1866. Cedar Hill was designed as an American rural cemetery in the tradition of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Matthew L. Lesser is an American politician who represents the 9th district in the Connecticut State Senate. First elected to the State House in 2008, Lesser was re-elected in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. In 2018 he was elected as state senator for the 9th district, winning 57% of the vote.
Portland is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,384 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP). It is situated across the Connecticut River from Middletown.
The Wangunk or Wongunk were an Indigenous people from central Connecticut. They had three major settlements in the areas of the present-day towns of Portland, Middletown, and Wethersfield. They also used lands in other parts of what were later organized by English settlers as Middlesex and Hartford counties. Some sources call the Wangunk the Mattabessett, or Mattabesch, but Wangunk is the name used by scholars and by contemporary Wangunk descendants.
Long Lane School was a prison for juvenile inmates in Middletown, Connecticut. Historically a prison for delinquent girls, it underwent various name changes, was acquired by the state in 1924, and began housing boys in 1972. Prior to its 2003 closure, it was operated by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, and was for inmates of the ages 11–16. It was a locked and high-security facility. In its lifetime, Long Lane remained unfenced.
Russell Library is an 1876 library located at 123 Broad Street in Middletown, Connecticut.
Joseph Wright Alsop IV was an American politician and father of Joseph Wright Alsop V and Stewart Alsop. He served in the Connecticut General Assembly and ran for Congress on the Bull Moose Party ticket.
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