Dean Hill Cemetery and Disciple Church Site

Side A: In 1827, noted evangelist Walter Scott came to Canfield and visited with a number of area Baptist families living on Palmyra Road and in the vicinity of Dean Hill. A follower of Alexander Campbell, Scott delivered powerful sermons that persuaded some to establish a new church congregation in the Disciple faith. After meeting in congregation members’ homes, a framed meeting house was erected circa 1830 on land purchased from William and Orsemus Dean. This church stood across from William Dean’s brick residence. A burial ground was provided at the site with existing grave markers dating to 1837. Veterans from all the wars of this nation are buried here, including Benjamin Dean of the 105th Ohio Infantry Regiment who died from wounds suffered in the 1863 Battle of Murfreesboro in Tennessee. (continued on other side) Side B: (continued from other side) According to some, there are few more sightly and beautiful locations on the Western Reserve than the crest of Dean Hill where the Disciple congregation grew rapidly. The church continued to meet regularly until 1865, but by 1848 members living in the Village of Canfield had withdrawn from Dean Hill to form a second Disciple Church near the south end of the Village Green. Eventually the Disciple churches in Canfield and North Jackson absorbed the diminished Dean Hill congregation. The old frame church was a conspicuous landmark until it was razed in the late 1880s. Today only the carriage step stone remains as a reminder of the church location. The Dean Hill Cemetery continues to serve as a final resting place for descendants of its founders and for the Canfield community.