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Hanging Rock Ohio History Marker Dedication

Historic Marker Unveiling
Thursday, September 16th, 2021 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Chardon, OH: 320 Park Ave, Chardon, OH 44024

A dedication ceremony for a new Ohio History marker commemorating Hanging Rock will be held in Chardon, OH. The unveiling will begin at 4:00 p.m. on September 16, 2021 at 320 Park Ave, Chardon, Ohio.

HANGING ROCK
Near this location on May 15, 1823, the first murder trial in Geauga County concluded with the public execution of Benjamin Wright, Jr. On February 1, 1823, Wright stabbed Zophar Warner over a financial dispute, wounding him mortally. The following month, a jury found Wright guilty of murder and ordered that “he be hung by the neck until he be dead.” At the time, executions in Ohio were carried out locally and public hangings were seen by some as social events. The “hanging bee” drew more than 4,000 people, some of whom traveled from upwards of 50 miles to witness the spectacle. One witness wrote, “I felt that he deserved to be hung … but it was an awful site I hope to never the like see again.” Wright’s body was taken to nearby LeRoy for burial and the gallows was dismantled.