Geauga County

The South Newbury Union Chapel was built in 1858 on land donated by Anson Matthews in the village of Burton, OH. Its creation was reputedly caused by an incident related to James A. Garfield, then Principal of the Western Reserve Electric Institute (now Hiram College), who would later serve as the twentieth President of the United States. Garfield was scheduled to speak at the Congregational “Brick” Church in December of 1857, but the invitation was withdrawn due to the controversial nature of the speech, the topic of which is not known today. The South Newbury Union Chapel was erected in response to the cancelled speech, and was to be “…open and free for all denominations, but to be monopolized by no one or to the exclusion of anyone.”

The Chapel developed into a community center, used for religious instruction, singing schools, plays, and other meetings and gatherings of public issues. It is regarded as the “Free Speech Chapel” as it welcomed numerous groups throughout the nineteenth century who crusaded for various causes, including women’s dress reform, women’s suffrage, and temperance. The Women’s Temperance Society was founded here in 1875, and other groups that occupied the building included the Cold Water Army, Friends of Impartial Suffrage, and the Independent Order of Good Templars. It is also regarded as the “Cradle of Equal Suffrage” as it was used by politically active women’s groups, including nine women who cast their ballots illegally in an 1871 local election, who thus became the first women to vote in the state of Ohio. It was also the meeting place of the South Newbury Woman’s Suffrage and Political Club, founded January 4, 1874, the second such organization in Ohio and one of the earliest in the U.S. The Club planted an oak tree, known as the Centennial Oak, on July 4, 1876 across the street from the Chapel that was intended to represent the growth of woman’s suffrage. It also hosted public lectures by prominent women suffragists, including Susan B. Anthony in 1879 and Harriet Taylor Upton in 1919.

The Union Chapel Trustees, Ohio Historical Society (now Ohio History Connection), and Geauga Park District sponsored the dedication of an Ohio Historical Marker on the property in 2010, and the Chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

Researched and written by Carole Drabek, Sandy Woolf, Bill Ward, and Kayla Metzger.

The early beginnings of the Suffrage Movement in Newbury, OH occurred in 1870 at meetings of the Women’s Dress Reform in the South Newbury Union Chapel. In 1871, nine Newbury women cast their vote in the Chapel, becoming the first women to vote in the State of Ohio. Though the ballots were “lost” en route to the Board of Elections, the women remained dedicated to the cause.

The South Newbury Woman’s Suffrage Political Club was formed January 4, 1874. The Political Club was the second such organization in Ohio and one of the earliest in the country. The club’s bylaws stated, ”We believe in the absolute social, civil, and political equality of the entire human family, without regard to race, sex or nationality. The object of this organization shall be … to aid in place women on a pecuniary, social, and political equality with men.”

On August 23, 1919 at the Newbury Memorial Association’s commemoration of the South Newbury Woman’s Suffrage Political Club, attendees marched on State Rt. 44 from South Newbury Union Chapel to services at the historic Centennial Oak, planted on July 4, 1876. The planting of the Centennial Oak honored the United States Centennial, as well as symbolically planted the roots of a movement for growth and equality in the country. Distinguished guests included Frances Jennings Casement, Dr. Julia Porter Green, and Harriet Taylor Upton.

Researched and written by Carole Drabek, Sandy Woolf, and Bill Ward.

Julia Porter Green was born May 8, 1847 in Mantua, OH.

In 1874, she was Corresponding Secretary of the South Newbury Woman’s Suffrage and Political Club and took part in the planting of the Centennial Oak tree on July 4, 1876. In 1879, Green relocated to Michigan to attend Hillsdale College, where she obtained her M.D. degree and practiced medicine until 1910. In 1919, Dr. Green returned to northeast Ohio and became President of the newly organized Newbury Memorial Association. She was the only surviving charter member of the South Newbury Woman’s Suffrage and Political Club to attend the August 23, 1919 procession at the South Newbury Union Chapel. She is pictured above hanging a commemorative wreath upon the Centennial Oak, which she helped plant forty-three years prior.

Researched and written by Carole Drabek, Sandy Woolf, and Bill Ward.

Ruth Fisher was born on January 25, 1809 in Newbury, OH She married William Munn on April 18, 1833. Munn was an early member of the Ohio Women’s Dress Reform Movement which took place in South Newbury of Geauga County. She served as President of the Northern Ohio Health and Dress Reform Association, one of the first societies for dress reform in the state, which celebrated dress reform and women’s suffrage every fourth of July by holding a picnic and sporting bloomers.

The dress reform organization led to the formation of the South Newbury Woman’s Suffrage Political Club, the second oldest suffrage organization in Ohio and one of the oldest in the United States. Ruth Fisher Munn served as its first president, and many of the charter members belonged to the National Dress Reform Association. The Dress Reform Association and Political Club gathered at the South Newbury Union Chapel, also known as the “Cradle of Equal Suffrage.” The Club was established after a group of women, including Munn, presented themselves at the polls to vote in a previous election, but were refused. In 1871, Munn was one of nine women to illegally cast a ballot in a local election at the Chapel, becoming one of the first female voters in Ohio’s history.

Researched and written by Carole Drabek, Sandy Woolf, and Bill Ward.