Exploring Highland Hills’ Potter’s Field Cemetery

Highland Hills, Ohio

There are many different types of cemeteries in existence. Some are old family burying grounds located on their previously-owned land. Others are larger and dedicated to people who follow a certain religion. Graveyards (technically a cemetery located right next to a church), asylum and county home cemeteries, and potter’s fields round out the list.

Cleveland has a potter’s field, also referred to as the Cleveland Memorial Park, that you may have driven past numerous times without even realizing it. Located off of South Green Road between Chagrin Road and Harvard in Highland Hills, this potter’s field can be found by following a nondescript driveway.

You won’t find large signs (or any at all, for the record) at the entranceway to this cemetery. It’s only after heading down the driveway that you’re greeted by a large stone monument with a metal plaque attached. As expected of a potter’s field, there are no headstones or other markings of any kind, just green grass and remnants of nature creeping in.

In fact, despite the potter’s field opening in 1904, the same year as nearby Highland Park Cemetery, it doesn’t appear on early maps, such as this one from between 1927 and 1937. Instead, the land just says “City of Cleveland” declaring its ownership.

What is a Potter’s Field?

For those who aren’t sure what a potter’s field (also sometimes called a pauper’s field) is, it’s a cemetery where the indigent are buried. For example, if someone dies in a hospital without any family around, or no family members respond to the coroner’s request to collect the body of their loved one, that deceased person ends up in a city or county-run potter’s field. It’s also possible that no one in the family could afford the burial, since even a simple funeral or cremation can run thousands of dollars.

It’s believed that the term “potter’s field” goes back to biblical times. According to one source, the land was purchased from a potter who’d already stripped it of useful clay. Since the area couldn’t be used for much else, priests purchased the land from the potter and turned it into cemetery for the indigent.

No matter the circumstances, the deceased ends up in a simple coffin buried in an unmarked grave. However, this doesn’t mean that they don’t receive any kind of honors or remembrance.

The Arimathea Pallbearer Ministry

Local Catholic School St. Ignatius runs the Saint Joseph of Arimathea pallbearers ministry. The ministry helps carry the bodies of the indigent to their final resting places and also go to the potter’s field twice a month to pray over them. The lead pallbearer carries a wooden cross or banner, and the other members of the ministry follow behind. Even if the deceased isn’t Catholic, they still receive the honors of this burial.

How Can You Find the Potter’s Field?

If you want to go visit the potter’s field yourself, head north on Green Road. Once you pass Harvard, take the second driveway on the left. If you pass the golf course, you’ve gone too far. You’ll know that you’re in the right place when you see the stone marker. Don’t forget to take a few minutes to remember the 17,000+ dead who are buried there.