With every seemingly mundane walk in the park, opportunities arise to create new adventures and memories, even in conjecture with the past. On such a day, father Richard Ryan and son John Ryan attempted to reconcile their grief for the recent passing of wife and mother Sharon Ryan while visiting an old fishing spot as a family. However, the pair spotted an abnormally shaped stone near the edge of the river, which upon reflection, had ancient writing carved into the surface. Once washed with moss, Richard and John concluded this was an undiscovered gravestone.
On May 7, Richard and John sought advice from the Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society & Museum on Cuyahoga Falls’ history in the 1700s. According to board member and volunteer Shawn Andrews, the land was primarily occupied by Native Americans at that time. In an attempt to link Cuyahoga Falls to its mostly forgotten history, the city, along with board members of the historical society, coordinated the removal of the gravestone to inspect it further and gather information about this lost person.
The mysterious gravestone, weighing approximately 200 lb., contains an engraved cross on its surface, followed by the name “Thadius Peck,” who lived between 1711-1781. According to Dr. John A. Peck, professor of Geosciences at The University of Akron, the stone is a form of sandstone known as “Berea,” commonly used in building, although foreign to this area. The stone’s location correlated with a popular swimming area for Cuyahoga Falls’ children and even further back for the Native Americans living in the area. For residents in the late 1800s into the 20th century, this area served as a park, later serving as a military training camp.
Investigating the Peck surname, it contains connections with the Western Reserve, particularly in Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Hudson, Akron, and Cleveland areas. Sherman Peck was Cuyahoga Falls’ first Marshall. Julius S. Peck, the former Summit County Clerk of Courts, owned a large acreage of land downtown near the gorge, according to the 1856 Summit County plat map. The Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society will continue to track the stone’s origin.
Other people crucial to this historical project include Maeve Marino, an archaeologist and Assistant Lecturer at the University of Akron. Marino confirms the stone’s date and hypothesizes that the rock has always been flat and not broken off. The Army Corps of Engineers and Ohio Historic Preservation Office also assisted in this modern puzzle of the Cuyahoga Falls community.
For up-to-date coverage on the Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society’s research into Thadius Peck’s gravestone, visit their Facebook page.
