We are pleased to announce that CHS was recently awarded a $5,100 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant from CT Humanities (CTH). CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants assist organizations as they recover from the pandemic and maintain and grow their ability to serve the community and the public.
Plans for the use of this grant include restoration and maintenance of one of Canterbury’s oldest graveyards, the Cleaveland Cemetery located on North Canterbury Road. With the oldest burial in the yard dating back to 1701, Cleaveland Cemetery is the final resting place of Major James Fitch, founder of Canterbury, and General Moses Cleaveland, founding father of Cleveland, Ohio in what was then the Connecticut Western Reserve.
In addition to its historic inhabitants, Cleaveland Cemetery has been described as “one of those hidden gems you can find in eastern Connecticut that have a wealthy population of carvers present in the yard.” Colonial gravestone enthusiasts can find stones carved by John Hartshorne, Obadiah Wheeler, Gershom Bartlett, the Mannings, John Walden, the Huntington Imitator, the Bolton Sharp Collared carver and more. Using funds from the grant awarded by CT Humanities, CHS will be installing interpretive signage about some of these stones and their carvers as well as a new sign for the cemetery itself to replace the improperly spelled one that currently stands at the entrance.
CHS was one of 723 organizations in Connecticut receiving a CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant.Totaling more than $8.5M, these grants are part of a two-year, $30.7M investment in arts, humanities and cultural nonprofits by the CT General Assembly and approved by Governor Ned Lamont.
This CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant is provided to the Canterbury Historical Society from CT Humanities, with funding from the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut Legislature.
