LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Next Monday is Veterans Day, and a piece of American history in Lima got a makeover and was rededicated today.
The historic marker for the burial site of Private Elijah Stites was refurbished and unveiled on Wednesday.
The historic marker for the burial site of Private Elijah Stites was refurbished and unveiled on Wednesday. The marker is on the side of the Charles Construction building on the corner of Central Avenue and North Street, which is also the burial site where Stites was buried in Lima's first cemetery.
The Lima Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution conducted a ceremony for Private Stites who was a color bearer at the Battle of Yorktown and eventually made his way down the Ohio River and then to Lima, where he was laid to rest.
The Lima Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution conducted a ceremony for Private Stites.
"Private Elijah Stites is Lima's connection to the Revolutionary War. He is the only Revolutionary War soldier buried within the city limits. There are other Revolutionary War veterans here in Allen County, but his remains are right there under that building, and they've been there since he passed away in the 1800's. But to think about it, he was a color bearer at the battle of Yorktown, where Cornwallis surrendered. He served under George Washington. How amazing is that? That we have that connection here in Lima," said Lana Gerber, Lima Chapter for the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The marker is on the side of the Charles Construction building on the corner of Central Avenue and North Street.
The plaque will actually see its 70th anniversary tomorrow, on November 7th, when it was originally dedicated back in 1954.
