Celebrating 100 years of women's right to vote in America.
Tucked away in the bucolic, semi-rural landscape of Geauga County is a monument to free speech and the right to vote for women.
It’s easy to blink and drive past it on the bustling road, also known as state Route 44, but you should stop a spell to breathe in the air of freedom and read the markers. It also adjoins a public park with muskrat, beaver and a brown bat condominium built as an Eagle Scout project, a short walk behind the building.
As monuments go, the South Newbury Union Chapel is modest. The one-room wooden structure measures just 24 feet by 36 feet, but the plain white building packed quite a wallop in its day.
It was built between 1858-1859 by outraged citizens after members of the Congregational Church across the street refused to allow future President James A. Garfield to speak, fearing his topic would be controversial. Garfield was a teacher at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, now known as Hiram College. In retaliation for the church’s snub, Anson Matthews, a store owner and the man who had invited Garfield to speak at the church, donated a one-acre plot of his land across the street for the Union Chapel. Today, both of the buildings continue to face each other.
At the time the area was a vibrant settlement with a grist mill, tannery, tavern wagon and blacksmith shops, a post office and other shops. The population was described as liberal.
https://www.cleveland.com/west-geauga/2012/10/south_newbury_union_chapel_hon.html
Important parking information: Pull into the gravel drive and in about 200 ft. you will find a small gravel parking lot behind a row of trees. There is room for 5-6 cars. SAY ON THE GRAVEL or get stuck in the mud!
Follow the mowed path to the cache.
Dogs must be leashed at all times while visiting Geauga Park Properties.