A stone memorial sits along Hart Road near the intersection of Hart and Baldwin roads, northeast of Cleveland in the scattered rural community of Kirtland Hills. Locals whisper that if you face the memorial, turn your back to it, then turn to face it again, it will move closer. This memorial, surrounded by a low stone wall, contains the remains of the Levi Smith family, early settlers of the area who migrated from Derby, Connecticut in 1814. Levi’s wife, Ruth, died in 1818 and Levi died in 1820. Some claim Levi Smith helped bring Mormonism to the area, but Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, was only 15 years old when Levi died. He did not publish the Book of Mormon until 1830. Another popular legend is that Levi and Ruth were witches who had been driven out of Connecticut, which was a hotbed of witch persecutions. The problem with this theory is that the last witch trials in Connecticut (and in New England) took place in the late 1690s. These facts have not prevented the legend of the Kirtland witch’s grave from spreading, and each year brings a fresh batch of curiosity seekers to this isolated stretch of road.
No comments:
Post a Comment