UPDATE: Akron City Council has just approved a resolution to rename Schneider Park in honor of the forgotten souls buried on its grounds. This unanimous decision, made during the council’s March 2 meeting, culminates a nine-year effort led by local resident Jane Greenland to ensure that those interred at the site are recognized and memorialized.
The park, which was once the burial site for the Summit County Infirmary and a former “poor farm,” has been a point of contention for many years. Greenland expressed her emotional connection to the site, stating, “They’re people and they have a soul… Every single one of those people had a really hard life.”
City spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh confirmed that Mayor Shammas Malik’s administration fully supports the renaming initiative and will collaborate with Councilwoman Jan Davis to host an official renaming event, bringing visibility to a history long overlooked.
The area has a grim past, serving as a potter’s field where many who died in the infirmary were laid to rest. According to University of Akron Anthropology Professor Emerita Carolyn Behrman, records indicate that at least 308 death certificates document burials from this site over an eight-year period. The cemetery’s ghostly outlines are visible from above, a stark reminder of the lives once lived there.
Historically, the infirmary operated under dire conditions until its closure in 1919. Behrman recounted harrowing accounts of the living conditions, noting that some residents were forced to live in wooden pens. “The conditions were indescribably pitiable,” she remarked, highlighting the urgent need for recognition of these individuals.
Greenland’s journey to gain acknowledgment for those buried at Schneider Park began when she encountered Behrman and her husband, Timothy Matney, during a class project mapping the grave site. Feeling compelled to act, Greenland began researching similar memorials and reached out to local historians for support.
The name change to Schneider Memorial Park is just the beginning. Greenland hopes to see a plaque installed that details the history of those buried there, emphasizing their humanity and contributions. “A lot of them were from other countries, here to build the canal… They didn’t have homes,” she explained, advocating for their stories to be told.
Behrman has also engaged with the Summit County Historical Society to secure funding for a historical marker on the site, similar to those found at other local historical landmarks.
Greenland expressed her elation over the council’s decision, stating, “I just felt that they needed to be recognized somehow as real people… and I just took on a mission.”
As Akron moves forward with this renaming, local residents and historians alike are hopeful that this will not only honor those buried in Schneider Park but will also foster a deeper understanding of the area’s complex history.
For ongoing updates and more information, contact reporter Derek Kreider at [email protected] or call 330-541-9413.
