Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery

Veterans cemetery in Medina County, Ohio
40°59′59″N 81°48′40″W / 40.99972°N 81.81111°W / 40.99972; -81.81111TypeNationalOwned byDepartment of Veterans AffairsSize273 acres (110 ha)No. of graves>45,000Websitewww.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ohiowesternreserve.aspFind a GraveOhio Western Reserve National Cemetery

Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Rittman, in Medina County, Ohio. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 273 acres (1.10 km2), and as of 2024 had over 50,000 interments.

History

Dedicated in 2000, Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery is the second national cemetery built in Ohio and the 119th National Cemetery created. Only a portion of it has been developed for use, but the rest is intended to service the interment needs of veterans and their families well into the future. The name Ohio Western Reserve refers part of the Northwest Territory, formerly known as the Connecticut Western Reserve, a tract of land in northeastern Ohio reserved by the state of Connecticut when it ceded its claims to western lands to the federal government in 1786.

In October 2022, the cemetery purchased Rawiga Country Club just to the south adding roughly 150 acres to the cemetery for a total of approximately 423 acres. Official annexation will not begin for another 10-15 years or when the land becomes needed.

Notable burials

  • Edmund Abel (1921–2014) – Inventor who designed Mr. Coffee
  • Ortha O. Barr Jr. (1922–2003) – Attorney, World War II veteran and prisoner of war[1]
  • Paul Drayton (1939–2000) – United States team Olympic sprinter
  • Noah Purifoy (1917–2004) – Artist and World War II Navy veteran
  • Dick Tomanek (1931–2023) - Baseball player

References

  1. ^ Osterdahl, Andy (2013-10-26). "The Strangest Names In American Political History : Ortha Orrie Barr Sr. (1879–1958), Ortha Orrie Barr Jr. (1922–2003)". The Strangest Names In American Political History. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  • Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery
  • U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery
  • Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery at Find a Grave Edit this at Wikidata
  • Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery on Facebook
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