Carthagena in Mercer County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Carthagena Black Cemetery

Photographed by Michael Baker

1. Carthagena Black Cemetery Marker

Side A

Inscription. The Carthagena Black Cemetery (Union Cemetery) is a remnant of approximately 70 documented rural black and mulatto rural settlements established throughout Ohio before the Civil War. After the Cincinnati riots against blacks in 1829, Quaker abolitionist Augustus Wattles led 15 black families north in 1835 to settle in Mercer County. he bought 189 acres in 1837 and set aside this cemetery by 1840, the date of the oldest remaining headstone. In 1840, early mulatto settler Charles Moore, platted the village of Carthagena. Mulatto clergymen Sam Jones and Harrison Lee were Underground Railroad conductors. By 1860, about 100 black and mixed-race families totaling 600 people owned more than 10,000 acres in the adjacent townships of Butler, Franklin, Granville, and Marion. Four protestant churches, the earliest in 1841, and three schools were built in the black settlement. (Continued on other side) The black cemetery is adjacent to the cemetery of St. Aloysius Church, built by German Catholics in 1878. The remaining portions of the ornate wrought iron fence mark the extent Catholic cemetery. Although the schools became integrated,

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the black churches closed in the 1930's. After U.S. Route 127 was widened in 1952, only 240 headstones remained. The last burial was in 1957. The Jennings family moved away in the 1950's, marking the end of the black settlement of Carthagena. Beginning in the 1970's, the Mercer County Genealogical Society recorded all information from the headstones. Nine black and mulatto veterans were identified-one from the War of 1812 and eight from the Civil War. The Mercer County Genealogical Society composed this commemorative text to share an important time in Ohio history.

Erected 2017 by Mercer County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society The Ohio History Connection. (Marker Number 5-54.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1829.

Location. 40° 26.201′ N, 84° 34.259′ W. Marker is in Carthagena, Ohio, in Mercer County. It is at the intersection

Photographed by Michael Baker

2. Carthagena Black Cemetery Marker

Side B

of Ohio Route 274 and U.S. 127, on the right when traveling east on Ohio Route 274. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Celina OH 45822, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Till Plains.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The builders 1876-78 of St. Aloysius Church at Carthagena Ohio (within shouting distance of this marker); Pioneers of 1865 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); In Prayerful Remembrance Of The Precious Blood Missionaries (approx. half a mile away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 3 miles away); The Cranberry School Bell (approx. 3.1 miles away); St. Francis Catholic Church (approx. 3.1 miles away); The Cranberry Prairie (approx. 3.1 miles away);

Photographed by Michael Baker

3. Carthagena Black Cemetery Marker

St. Rose Schoolhouse Bell (approx. 3.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Carthagena.

Photographed by Michael Baker

4. Carthagena Black Cemetery Marker

Carthagena Black Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Michael Baker

5. Carthagena Black Cemetery

Photographed by Tom Bosse, August 20, 2018

6. Carthagena Black Cemetery Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on August 27, 2018. It was originally submitted on November 15, 2017, by Michael Baker of Lima, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,587 times since then and 225 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 15, 2017, by Michael Baker of Lima, Ohio. 6. submitted on August 21, 2018, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.