This is a 1963 photograph of Chardon Street in Boston.
If you happen to visit Boston (highly recommended!) and find yourself strolling around the vicinity of Haymarket Square, you might notice a short street named "New Chardon Street" and wonder if there is any connection between it and our small town here in northeast Ohio.
Well, if you know a little bit about the history of Chardon, you might recall that the name of our town was taken after Peter Chardon Brooks, the original property owner of the land parcel who, legend has it, gave use of the land on the condition that the town to be built there should bear the name "Chardon".
If you happen to visit Boston (highly recommended!) and find yourself strolling around the vicinity of Haymarket Square, you might notice a short street named "New Chardon Street" and wonder if there is any connection between it and our small town here in northeast Ohio.
Well, if you know a little bit about the history of Chardon, you might recall that the name of our town was taken after Peter Chardon Brooks, the original property owner of the land parcel who, legend has it, gave use of the land on the condition that the town to be built there should bear the name "Chardon".
So you might wonder, why did he chose his middle name to be commemorated instead of his surname?
Wouldn't one expect the town to be named "Brooksville" or "Brooksfield"?
The answer lies in a story of religious persecution, friendship, and remembrance.
Following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in the late 1600's, many French "Huguenots" (French Calvinist Protestants) left their home county in fear of a return to the days of horrible unrest and violence that marked the religious wars in France during the late 16th century. Many fled to Great Britain, or Prussia, or Switzerland. Some, like the Chardon family, had the money and courage to pack up their belongings and venture to the New World in search of freedom and a better life.
By the early 1700's the Chardon family had established themselves as successful Boston merchants and lived near Bowdoin Square on a street that now bears their name. One son, named Peter Chardon, chose to attend Harvard and while there befriended another student named Edward Brooks from Medford. The Brooks family were highly respected. and in fact were among the first families to settle in Massachusetts. The two young men formed an unusually close relationship and remained in touch after they completed their education. Both were highly regarded as intelligent men of the highest virtue by all who knew them.
Unfortunately, Peter Chardon's life was tragically cut short when he died unexpectedly in 1766 while in the West Indies.
The sad news of Chardon's death reached Edward Brooks just six days before the birth of his son. In honor of his deceased friend, he named his son Peter Chardon Brooks.
Peter Chardon Brooks grew up to be an extremely successful entrepreneur; one might think of him as the Warren Buffet of his day. Even by today's standards after adjusting for inflation, he ranks as one of the top 100 richest Amercians in history. The bulk of his fortune was made in the business of marine insurance, but he also held substantial land investments in the Western Reserve.
And so it came to be that nearly 550 miles away as pioneers were building up settlements around Geauga County the time had come to chose the location of the county seat. Most people expected Burton or Bondstown (now Hambden) to be the obvious choice, but the Ohio commissioners were interested in an undeveloped tract of land on top of a hill located in the northern part of the county...land owned by Peter Chardon Brooks. A deal was struck, and a name was chosen - not so much to immortalize the name of Peter Chardon Brooks himself, who was known as a man to give generously "without parade", but a name to commemorate his legacy and to honor the friendship between his father and Peter Chardon - a man that he never met.
One final note...Peter Chardon Brooks never visited Chardon, but legend has it that he held the town dear to his heart and as a token of his kindness, he donated a large bell with the request that it be hung in the first church to be erected in the settlement. The bell is still in use to this day and can be found hanging from the bell tower in front of Chardon United Methodist Church on North Street.
The answer lies in a story of religious persecution, friendship, and remembrance.
Following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in the late 1600's, many French "Huguenots" (French Calvinist Protestants) left their home county in fear of a return to the days of horrible unrest and violence that marked the religious wars in France during the late 16th century. Many fled to Great Britain, or Prussia, or Switzerland. Some, like the Chardon family, had the money and courage to pack up their belongings and venture to the New World in search of freedom and a better life.
By the early 1700's the Chardon family had established themselves as successful Boston merchants and lived near Bowdoin Square on a street that now bears their name. One son, named Peter Chardon, chose to attend Harvard and while there befriended another student named Edward Brooks from Medford. The Brooks family were highly respected. and in fact were among the first families to settle in Massachusetts. The two young men formed an unusually close relationship and remained in touch after they completed their education. Both were highly regarded as intelligent men of the highest virtue by all who knew them.
Unfortunately, Peter Chardon's life was tragically cut short when he died unexpectedly in 1766 while in the West Indies.
The sad news of Chardon's death reached Edward Brooks just six days before the birth of his son. In honor of his deceased friend, he named his son Peter Chardon Brooks.
Peter Chardon Brooks grew up to be an extremely successful entrepreneur; one might think of him as the Warren Buffet of his day. Even by today's standards after adjusting for inflation, he ranks as one of the top 100 richest Amercians in history. The bulk of his fortune was made in the business of marine insurance, but he also held substantial land investments in the Western Reserve.
And so it came to be that nearly 550 miles away as pioneers were building up settlements around Geauga County the time had come to chose the location of the county seat. Most people expected Burton or Bondstown (now Hambden) to be the obvious choice, but the Ohio commissioners were interested in an undeveloped tract of land on top of a hill located in the northern part of the county...land owned by Peter Chardon Brooks. A deal was struck, and a name was chosen - not so much to immortalize the name of Peter Chardon Brooks himself, who was known as a man to give generously "without parade", but a name to commemorate his legacy and to honor the friendship between his father and Peter Chardon - a man that he never met.
One final note...Peter Chardon Brooks never visited Chardon, but legend has it that he held the town dear to his heart and as a token of his kindness, he donated a large bell with the request that it be hung in the first church to be erected in the settlement. The bell is still in use to this day and can be found hanging from the bell tower in front of Chardon United Methodist Church on North Street.
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