Guinea Corner, Old New Haven cemeteries receive first-time signs

NEW HAVEN TWP. — Two New Haven Township cemeteries are no longer anonymous. The Guinea Corner and Old New Haven cemeteries have permanent granite roadside identification signs after two centuries of remaining anonymous to all but local residents. Old New Haven Cemetery, which was established in 1817, is located at the intersection of Ohio 61 and Skinner Road. Guinea Corner Cemetery was created in 1827 and has about 100 people buried there. It is near the intersection of Ohio 61 and Boughtonville Road. "They never had any type of identification," said Tammy Hall, the New Haven Township fiscal officer since 2005. "There's never been anything to identify them." Hall was driving by the cemeteries recently and noticed the new signs. "They turned out very nice," said the Willard High School graduate. "They're very nice." Near the end of 2018, Norwalk businessman Justin Savage approached the township trustees to gain permission for the signs. He said his family's "deep roots in Huron County" and the genealogy research started by his late mother got him interested in the project. Savage's grandparents and one of his descendants, Reuben Skinner, came to New Haven Township and all three are buried at the Old New Haven Cemetery. Skinner Road is named after Skinner, who came to the area in 1815. "It was part of his farm originally," Savage said, referring to the area north of the cemetery. Hall said Savage and his brother Jeff initially wanted to remain anonymous about the sign project and gained interest after contacting a new, local historical society. "His family is from the area. His mother's maiden name is Saaf," Hall added. Savage said the small farm owned by a descendant, Henry Mills, "was right smack dab in the middle" of what is now the Willard reservoir. The family moved to New Haven Township from eastern Pennsylvania. Mills' son later established a farm on about 440 acres immediately south of U.S. 224 and west of Ohio 61 and Ohio 598 in New Haven. Savage said his family still owns the property. Once it was decided where the roadside cemetery signs would be placed, Savage contracted with Franklin Monument Co. Ltd. in Norwalk to create them. He said New Haven United Methodist Church, which has served the area for more than 200 years, provided the signs while Franklin Monument handled the production and placement. They were placed in mid-December. "Justin and his brother paid for them," Hall said. "They are identical in size and appearance." Old New Haven Cemetery was established 10 years before Guinea Corner, which had its first known burial in 1827. "The oldest is Old New Haven Cemetery, which saw its first known interment in 1817 with the burial of early Firelands pioneer and New Haven Township settler George Beymer," Savage said. "Both places bear the graves of the earliest settlers to the Firelands area beginning with the end of the War of 1812. New Haven village, which lies between the two cemeteries, was platted in 1815, grew rapidly and was the commercial center of the southern Firelands until being bypassed by the railroad in 1844." Hall estimated that Guinea Corner Cemetery holds about 100 people while Old New Haven is two to three times larger. She said Paul Pond, a military officer from yesteryear, is buried at the center of Old New Haven and someone has taken the time to make sure his grave marker has a brass plaque. "There have never been any maps … or official records," Hall said, referring to who is buried in the two cemeteries. "I don't feel it's unusual because it's so old." Hall started doing maintenance work at the township cemeteries for Memorial Day events at the age of 15. She said Guinea Corner and Old New Haven have been closed for at least 40 years. When asked about the significance of the sites receiving signs, Hall said it's especially important for genealogy enthusiasts and Huron County residents who have wondered what the names of the cemeteries are. "It was very kind for Justin to do this for the township because his family was part of the area for so long," she added.