Leverett Johnson / Evergreen Cemetery

Leverett Johnson, also, Evergreen Cemetery. Westlake’s First Settler, also, . , Leverett Johnson. Born in Connecticut in 1794, Leverett Johnson came to Dover Township with his brother-in-law and sister Asahel and Rebecca Johnson Porter on October 10, 1810. In 1811 at the age of 16, he began clearing land in what is now Westlake. In 1814 he built a log house at Porter and Center Ridge roads for his bride Abigail Cahoon. They raised nine children and lived here the rest of their lives. Johnson was a prominent citizen of Dover Township, serving as a justice of the peace, a township treasurer and trustee, a Cuyahoga County commissioner and a five-term Ohio state legislator, and as the first director of Dover Academy, a local school. Leverett died on April 19, 1856 at home. He donated part of his land for Evergreen Cemetery, where he, Abigail, and many of the pioneers of Westlake are buried. , Evergreen cemetery, located on Center Ridge Road in Westlake west of Porter Road, was founded about 1820 on land donated by Leverett Johnson and several others. The cemetery’s approximately 16 acres is burial place for many of the American pioneers who cleared the land and settled in the area. They include Asher and Lydia Cooley; Jedediah, Sarah and Noah Crocker; Daniel Follett; Rial Holden; Leverett and Abigail Johnson; Ebenezer, Aurelia, Nehemiah, Rebekah, Wells and Philena Porter; Abner, Rebecca, Isaac, Betsey, John and Jonathan Smith: Amos, Dorcas, Hannah, Amos R. and Ruth Sperry; Joseph and Jane Stocking; and Jasher, John and Abigail Taylor. Owned and maintained by the city of Westlake, Evergreen Cemetery has had more than 3,800 interments as of 2011.