Nestled in the back of the wooded
East Harbor State Park Campground by the group camp is a tiny cemetery with a couple stately gravestones that date back to the 1800s surrounded by a wrought-iron fence.
This is the final resting place of some of the family that once had its homestead here and sold the land to the state of Ohio so it could become the beloved playground it is today, known for its renowned, pristine beach and wooded campground.
The
Lockwood (Marshall) Cemetery is lovingly preserved, maintained, and
marked in history by the
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the
Friends of East Harbor State Park,
and Ottawa County Historical Society.
It is a peaceful, quiet place that many who visit the park might miss if they don’t know it is there.
Buried here are some of the earliest settlers of European descent in Ottawa County: Edward Jared – often referenced historically as E.J. - Lockwood and his wife, Lydia Ramsdell Lockwood.
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Kristina SmithThe Lockwood (Marshall) Cemetery is lovingly preserved, maintained, and marked in history by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Friends of East Harbor State Park, and Ottawa County Historical Society.E.J. Lockwood was the son of Col. Samuel Mills Lockwood, who was born in Connecticut and came to what is today the Lakeside-Marblehead area after serving in the War of 1812 with the New York Militia.
Samuel Lockwood rose to prominence in the area because he and William Townsend organized Portage Plaster, the original
gypsum plant in Ottawa County, according to the book
“History of Ottawa County: The First 175 Years” by Patrick Lawrence O’Keeffe. Gypsum is a type of soft rock that was mined in the area and used in the manufacture of drywall and other materials.
Today,
U.S. Gypsum still manufactures joint compounds and surfaces at its facility along the Sandusky Bay in the small burg of Gypsum.
In the 1830s, Samuel Lockwood also was a state senator serving Erie County when what is today Ottawa County was still part of Erie County, according to ODNR and “History of Ottawa County.” He also was a commissioner for the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, which ran through Ohio, according to
records regarding veterans of Ottawa County in the archives at the
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums.
He died in 1848 in Sandusky, according to Hayes Presidential records, and it is not clear where he is buried. He is not in the cemetery at East Harbor.
E.J. Lockwood bought most of what is today
East Harbor State Park from 1845 to 1847 for $1,100, according to ODNR. In 1948, he built the family home and farm there, and the buildings no longer stand. The couple primarily had peach orchards, according to the historical marker at the site.
When E.J. Lockwood died in 1896, the land was divided between his daughters. Later, his grandson, Lockwood Marshall, inherited the land and sold it to the state of Ohio in the early 1940s.
The gravestones for E.J. and Lydia Lockwood read:
Edward Jared Lockwood
Born August 17, 1813, Albany, New York
Died November 14, 1897, Port Clinton, Ohio
"Because I have lived so shall I die also"
Lydia Ramsdell Lockwood
Born January 3, 1819, Danbury, Ohio
Died March 21, 1890, Danbury, Ohio
"She hath done what she could"
East Harbor State Park is located at 1169 N. Buck Road, Lakeside-Marblehead.