Clark Square, on Buffalo Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets, one of eight squares laid out in Beaver by the Governor of Pennsylvania in an Act of 17 9 1, is possibly Beaver's richest heritage.
By the fourth section of the Act of March 14, 1814, the northwest corner square was appropriated as a burial ground. Today, the residents of Beaver know this square as "the old cemetery."
It is here that our ancestors from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Civil War lie buried. Here, also, are the graves of distinguished men who laid the foundations of Beaver.
For many years, during the 1940's, the cemetery lay neglected. The original wrought-iron fence had been taken for scrap iron during World War II, stones lay broken, inscriptions eroded. Neighborhood children used the park as a playground.
Some time ago, the park was land scaped by the Borough of Beaver, stones removed, and a central monument erected to those lying here. Four bronze plaques now surround the center memorial inscribed with the names of the dead, their birth and death dates. Special marks designate certain graves as those of soldiers of the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil, or Mexican War.
Old pioneer names such as Stokes, Wilson, Walton, Sutherland, Small, McKee and Reno are much in evidence in these records. A map showing the location of all graves is in the Beaver Municipa Building on Third Street.
Grass, walks, evergreens, shade and flowering trees today present an appealing park where the dead lie buried, but not forgotten.
"Each in his narrow cell forever laid
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. "