General Jack Casement to visit Willoughby Hills Historical Society on May 25, 2011

The year 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War and it is being celebrated across the state of Ohio.  In keeping with that, the Willoughby Hills Historical Society will be hosting a public program.  Their program will be "General John S. Casement" as portrayed by Larry Disbro of The Lake County Historical Society.  Casement will describe his experiences in the Civil War and also with the Transcontinental Railroad.

This Willoughby Hills Historical Society Meeting and Program will take place on Wednesday, May 25th at 7pm.  Their address is 35400 Chardon Road (Willoughby Hills Community Center), Willoughby Hills.  The meeting room is located on the lower level and is handicapped accessible.  For additional information please check whhs-oh@att.net. or call Frank or Mary Cihula at 440-946-5557.

Lake County Profile:  General 'Jack' Casement  1829-1909

John S. Casement arrived in Lake County in his early twenties and by the time of his death had become one of early American history's notable figures.  He was a major/general/brigade commander for the Union Army during the Civil War and a noted railroad contractor throughout the country.  While working on railroad construction in Lake County, he met his future wife Francis Jennings (married 1857) and established his permanent resident on Casement Drive in Painesville. 

Casement began his Civil War career in 1861 as a major and participated in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign against Stonewall Jackson and the Confederacy.  Campaigns in Knoxville (1863) and Atlanta (1864) followed.  Promoted to General and Brigade Commander by 1865, Casement ended his military career after the Carolinas Campaign.  His Postbellum Career saw him accept a construction job with the Transcontinental Railroad project.  He and his brother led Union Pacific work crews in laying track from Fremont, Nebraska to the completion of the transcontinental project in Promentary, Utah.  Casement finished out his life residing in Painesville, Ohio.  He is interned at Evergreen Cemetery in Painesville and his home on Casement Avenue, also in Painesville still stands today.