BAINBRIDGE, Ohio — The 250th anniversary of the historic Boston Tea Party is being commemorated this year, and to honor the occasion, members of the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, in partnership with the Village of Bainbridge and Revolution 250, have traveled to Ohio. Their mission was to place a special commemorative marker at the gravesite of Nathaniel Willis, a participant in the Boston Tea Party. The marker is the 124th plaque to be placed at the gravesites of known Boston Tea Party participants and the only one in Ohio.
The commemorative ceremony took place on Sunday, May 7, at the Bainbridge Cemetery. Distinguished attendees included Terressa Reep, Regent of the Nathaniel Massie Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR); Geoff Mavis, the 5th great-grandson of Nathaniel Willis; Xavier Hollon, Member of the Bainbridge City Council; Evan O’Brien, Creative Manager at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum; Jonathan Lane, Revolution 250 Executive Director at the Massachusetts Historical Society; and David Tillis, President of the Bainbridge Historical Society.
During the event, a marker gravestone was ceremonially placed by Cathryn Philippe, a costumed Colonial actor representing the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. The marker features an image inspired by Nathaniel Currier’s renowned lithograph, “The Destruction of the Tea at Boston Harbor,” which was created in 1846 and remains a popular artistic representation of the Boston Tea Party. The marker will remain on display indefinitely, serving as a testament to the bravery and significance of the individuals involved in the event that led to the American Revolution.
Nathaniel Willis, born on February 7, 1755, was a printer apprentice in Boston when he participated in the Boston Tea Party at the age of 19 on December 16, 1773. Following his involvement, he became a proprietor and publisher of the Independent Chronicle, a leading political journal based in Boston. Willis distinguished himself as a horseman during the Revolutionary War and served in the military, including an expedition to Rhode Island under General Sullivan. He was also a Freemason in St. Andrews Lodge in Massachusetts.
After the Revolutionary War, Willis moved to Martinsville, Virginia, where he founded the Potomac Guardian and served as its editor until 1800. In that year, he relocated to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he founded the Scioto Gazette, the first newspaper in the then Northwestern Territory. Willis served as the printer for the government of the territory and held an agency in the Post Office Department. He eventually settled in Chillicothe, where he passed away on April 1, 1831. Nathaniel Willis was the grandfather of N. P. Willis, a renowned American author, poet, and editor who collaborated with prominent writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
The commemorative marker at Willis’ gravesite is part of a larger effort by the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum to honor all known Boston Tea Party participants buried throughout New England and the United States. As the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party approaches on December 16, 2023, additional markers will be placed in various cemeteries in the coming months, ensuring that the courageous individuals involved in this historic event are duly recognized and remembered.