The Dean Family Farm
Lost until recently, the Dean Cemetery is where generations upon generations of Deans are buried, with the first burial taking place in 1787 and the last one in 1913. The property is broken up into three sections. One is for members of the family, another is for friends of the family and the third is for the slaves to the family.
On the ground are several stones in a row and, at first glance, look like any moderately heavy stones. But if one tries to move them about, they will notice they are quite clearly planted in the ground. One of the stones has the crude initials ELH carved into it.
On Benson Road in Kendall Park, lies a small 11 plus acre farm, which was purchased with the mark of an for $50, by a freed black man, Thomas Titus. Bought from Ferdinand Van Dyke in 1817, Titus carved a modest living off his land for 32 years.
Over the years, the land went through a long series of owners before the township parks department acquired it in 1989. Thomas Titus is buried somewhere on the property, but no one know exactly where. His headstone still exists, but is currently sitting in the townships public works building.
