Driving Directions
GPS Coordinates – Latitude: 41.0539434, Longitude: -81.7979114
From the West – Lodi – Take I-76 East to Exit 7 (SR-57, Rittman). Turn right onto SR-57. Turn left on to River Styx Road. Cemetery is approximately 1 mile down on the left.
From the North – Cleveland – Take I-71 South to I-76 East (exit 209). Then follow the Lodi Directions.
From the South – Columbus – Take I-71 North to I-76 East (exit 209). Take I-76 East to Exit 7 (SR-57, Rittman). Then follow the Lodi Directions.
From East – Akron – Take I-76 / SR-224 West to Exit 7 (SR-57, Rittman). Turn right onto SR-57. Turn left on to River Styx Road. Cemetery is approximately 1 mile down on the left.
From the Southeast – Canton or from Akron-Canton Airport – Take I-77 North to SR-224. Go West on SR-224; will merge with I-76. Then follow the Akron Directions.

Transcribed 7 Feb 2008
Information was compiled from sexton records and tombstone inscriptions
File contains all the known burials
Transcription compiled by Laurie Halliwell (cemetery sexton)
Cemetery Condition: Very Good

Cemetery History
River Styx Cemetery has very limited space available to accommodate casketed and cremated remains.

Number of Burial Spaces Developed to Date: 752.

Number of Developed Burial Spaces Available: 28

Established as a pioneer homestead graveyard in 1821 by the David Wilson family, who were among the early settlers of Medina County, and the first to settle the township of Guilford. Today, the cemetery serves as the final resting place of hundreds of area pioneer settlers, and includes veterans of the Revolutionary War through the battles of this century.

In 1816, David Wilson, accompanied by his brother John, came to Medina County, and together they started a clearing in the northeastern part of Guilford Township, the site long bore the name “Wilson’s Corners.” The first marriage in the township was celebrated 15 Dec 1818, Abigail Porter becoming wife of David Wilson. Their union extended over a period or nearly fifty years, her death occurring 19 Jul 1866. David Wilson, aged 90 years, 7 month, and 1 day, died on 23 Nov 1884.

The first recorded burial in River Styx Cemetery is that of Elijah Porter, a grandfather of Mr. Wilson’s wife, Abigail. Mr. Porter, a veteran of the American Revolutionary war, was born on 12 Dec 1757, and died shortly after arriving at Wilson’s corner in 1821. The spot became consecrated earth, and sacred to the memory of him. Family members and others of that neighborhood were laid to rest beside him.

In 1844, there having been several cases of grave-robbing, the citizens constructed quite a large receiving vault in the cemetery. This vault is still in good condition, and is the only one of the kind in Guilford Township. A local journalist writes of this event, “One bizarre story is that one of the local residents enthusiastically kept the Wadsworth medical college supplied with laboratory material by grave-robbing. It was so bad that residents began burying their dead in out-of-town cemeteries with the result that David Wilson built a stone vault with a triple plank door in the village graveyard so the dead could rest in peace.” [Article: Places of the Past Remain As Memories, Medina County Sun Newspaper, 2 Aug 2001]. The incidents were hampered, but the thieves managed to damage the oak vault doors on several occasions. Mr. Wilson contracted an area blacksmith to design and construct an iron gated door, which remains today. Trees were planted, the grounds were enclosed with Osage hedge, and an Iron fence with triple gates was installed along the frontage of the cemetery.

The River Styx Cemetery Association was established in 1911 to maintain records, provide perpetual care, and direct services. On 1 March 1933, the association purchased the former River Styx Methodist Church edifice. Constructed in 1850, the 1288 square feet structure measures 28x46’.

In 2005, the four remaining members of the River Styx Cemetery Association made the decision to disband, sell the church edifice, and escheat the cemetery grounds to Guilford Township. In November 2005, (name withheld), of Wadsworth purchased the former church edifice, for $54,000, by way of public auction. Soon after, the association learned that they could not obtain title insurance because they had never filed with the state as a non-profit organization. In order to consummate the sale, the association formed an Ohio Non-Profit Corporation in January 2006. The said property title transferred 18 Jan 2006. The newly formed corporation acted as a conduit for the purposes of gifting monies, totaling $49,212.38 from the said sale, to the Guilford Township Trustees, with which to provide perpetual care for the River Styx Cemetery. In May 2006, the Corporation was in the process of dissolution. The members voted to gift any remaining funds to the township, namely the Board of Trustees.

The cemetery is currently under the direction of the Guilford Township Board of Trustees, who direct the general care and custody of the property and grounds of the cemetery. A physical street address was obtained, and the cemetery was registered with the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing on 24 April 2007. The Cemetery Sexton has general charge of all sales, interment services, and memorials.