| Indian Hill Cemetery | |
|---|---|
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| 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 invading European settlers. Over time, the Wangunk lost much of the surrounding land to settlers by theft, but were able to keep the hill parcel for themselves. The Wangunk and settlers lived together for many decades until the hill parcel was eventually taken by settlers in the late 1700s. [6]
The cemetery was developed, in part to change the association of Indian Hill as having been central to Wangunk life, 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]
Cromwell is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, located within the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 14,225 at the 2020 census.
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a men's college under the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown. It is currently a secular institution.
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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.
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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. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the State House in 2008, and re-elected in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. He won election to the state Senate from the 9th district in 2018, and was reelected in 2020 and 2022. Lesser unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Connecticut Secretary of the State in 2022.
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