Edgewater in Lakewood in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019

1. Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland Marker, side one

Inscription. Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland was a prominent nineteenth century professor, physician, naturalist, and horticulturalist. In 1837, Kirtland purchased land in Rockport Township that stretched from Madison Avenue to Lake Erie. Kirtland used that land as a natural laboratory and filled it with gardens, greenhouses, and an arboretum where he developed fruit and grape varieties best suited for the region. His success with new varieties inspired area farmers to successfully concentrate on fruit and grape growing. In 1837, he built a home at Detroit and Bunts Roads and lived there until his death in 1877.

Among his accomplishments, Kirtland helped to found the organizations that developed into today’s Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He served as a state representative from 1828 to 1834 and was appointed to the Ohio geological survey in 1832. As part of that survey, Kirtland prepared an nearly complete, and scientifically important, list of Ohio’s animals. As a physician, Kirtland served as the examining surgeon of Ohio’s Civil War recruits and donated his income

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from that service to the Soldiers’ Aid Society.

Erected 2015 by Giant Eagle, Inc.; the Lakewood Historical Society; and The Ohio History Connection. (Marker Number 120-18.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Environment • Horticulture & Forestry • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1837.

Location. 41° 29.084′ N, 81° 47.377′ W. Marker is in Lakewood, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It is in Edgewater. It is on Bunts Road south of Detoit Avenue (Alternate U.S. 6), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lakewood OH 44107, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Cleveland,

on the Lake Erie Shore,

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee

Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland Marker, side two image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019

2. Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland Marker, side two

(Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Nicholson Homestead (approx. 0.3 miles away); Cowan Pottery (approx. 0.4 miles away); Alexander Winton Homestead (approx. 0.7 miles away); Lakewood Park (approx. 0.7 miles away); Oldest Stone House (approx. ¾ mile away); Lakewood Veterans War Memorial (approx. 0.8 miles away); Lakewood Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.8 miles away); Ladies Of The G.A.R. Civil War Memorial (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lakewood.

Jared P. Kirtland (1793–1877) image. Click for full size.

3. Jared P. Kirtland (1793–1877)

Copy of photo embedded in marker.

Evidence of Kirtland’s Extensive Gardens image. Click for full size.

4. Evidence of Kirtland’s Extensive Gardens

Photo embedded in the marker. “Evidence of Kirtland’s extensive gardens remained in 1953. In this Cleveland Press photo, an Osage tree, which had grown to more than 115 feet, is examined.”

“Whippoorwill,” Kirtland’s Home, Constructed of Native Sandstone in 1839. image. Click for full size.

5. “Whippoorwill,” Kirtland’s Home, Constructed of Native Sandstone in 1839.

Photo of drawing embedded in marker.

“Whippoorwill” Remodeled image. Click for full size.

6. “Whippoorwill” Remodeled

Copy of photo embedded in marker. “In 1883, after Kirtland’s death, his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Pease, remodeled ‘Whippoorwill,’ with the addition of extra rooms, bay windows and an ornate veranda.”

Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019

7. Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 17, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 690 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on July 17, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.