Burton, Ohio-First Permanent Settlement in Geauga County / The Village Green

Side A: In 1796, surveyors for the Connecticut Land Company designated an area five miles square surrounding this place as Range 7, Township 7 of the Connecticut Western Reserve. A landowner’s expedition on June 15, 1798, arrived at the northwest corner of the township. One of its members, Thomas Umberfield (Umberville) brought his family to the center of the township (now Burton Village) on June 21, 1798. Here they built the first home, a simple log cabin located southwest of the spring at the end of Spring Street. The owner of the largest parcel of land in the township, Titus Street, was given the honor of naming the township. He named it after his son, Burton. Side B: In early Connecticut villages, the Village Green was surrounded by churches, the town hall, and prominent houses. The green was the common land to be used by the people of the township. When settlers arrived in the Connecticut Western Reserve, they chose the same pattern for their villages. This Village Green, platted on July 10, 1798, was given by the original landowners as a gift to the Township of Burton on October 5, 1803. Some of the early uses of the Village Green in Burton have been to serve as a common pasturing area for farm animals, drilling area for the local militia, place for Independence Day celebrations, site for early agricultural exhibitions, and for maple sugaring. At different times, the school, church, and town hall were located on this green.