Old Grave Yard / War Council of 1812

In 1805, a burial ground was dedicated to Champaign County at the intersection of Ward and Kenton Streets, which was then at Urbana’s town limits. It remained open until 1856. Among those interred there was Elizabeth Kenton, eight-year-old daughter of Simon Kenton. When she died in 1810, Kenton, the county jailer, was forbidden from crossing out of the town limits due to his unpaid debts. After following the funeral procession as far as he could, he watched Elizabeth’s burial from across the street. Also buried there were unknown soldiers from the War of 1812; Captain Arthur Thomas and son, who were killed by Native Americans in August 1813; four Bell children, who died in the tornado of March 22, 1830; and numerous early settlers of Champaign County. Many, but not all, were reinterred and rest in Oak Dale Cemetery.

[Side B]: To confirm that the Treaty of Greenville would be upheld, Ohio Governor Return J. Meigs called a council with Native Americans June 6-9, 1812. He sought approval to cross native land when marching to Canada and to ensure their alliance with the United States against the British. Among the tribes and chiefs credited for attending were the Shawnee (Black Hoof, Captain Lewis), Wyandot (Tarhe, Roundhead), Seneca (Civil John), and Mingo. General William Hull, Colonels MacArthur, Cass, and Findley, the Wyandot interpreter Isaac Zane, and Simon Kenton are also thought to have attended. Blockhouses were erected along Hull’s Trace for storage and the protection of local settlers. The actual location of this gathering was on the rise about 100 yards southwest of the Old Grave Yard.