Northfield Center Cemetery

Last updated
Northfield Center Cemetery
NorthfieldMA CenterCemetery 01.jpg
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationParker Ave., Northfield, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°41′41″N72°27′40″W / 42.69472°N 72.46111°W / 42.69472; -72.46111 Coordinates: 42°41′41″N72°27′40″W / 42.69472°N 72.46111°W / 42.69472; -72.46111
Area7.64 acres (3.09 ha)
NRHP reference No. 04001220 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 13, 2004

The Northfield Center Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at the western terminus of Parker Avenue in Northfield, Massachusetts. Established in 1686, it is the town's first burying ground, with documented graves dating to 1714. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. [1]

Contents

Description and history

The Northfield Center Cemetery is located a short way west of the town center, at the western end of Parker Avenue. It is bounded on the east by a railroad right of way, and on the west by a wooded embankment leading down to the flood plain of the Connecticut River. It is 7.64-acre (3.09 ha) in size, and consists of roughly level ground, fringed with trees on the three sides not abutting the railroad tracks. The main entrance is at the southeast corner, and a narrow paved road provides a roughly oval circulation pattern through the grounds. [2]

The cemetery was established in 1686, and is Northfield's first burying ground. Northfield was abandoned twice, because of King Philip's War in the 1670s and King William's War in the 1690s, and was not permanently resettled until 1714. The gravesite of Zechariah Field, one of the 1714 settlers, has been identified in the graveyard. The cemetery continues in active use today, with more than 1,000 burial sites. The section with the oldest graves is near the center, and features stones of slate and schist, many adorned with winged skulls. One of the most elegant markers is that of the Allen family, consisting of a marble column 15 feet (4.6 m) in height, entwined with carved vines and topped by an urn. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salem Street Burying Ground</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

Salem Street Burying Ground is a cemetery located at the intersection of Salem Street and Riverside Avenue in Medford, Massachusetts. The Salem Street Burying Ground was used exclusively from the late 17th century to the late 19th century for the burial of the town's wealthy. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Parish Burying Ground</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

The West Parish Burying Ground, also known as the River Street Burying Ground or River Street Cemetery, is a cemetery located at River and Cherry streets in West Newton, Massachusetts, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Established in 1777, the cemetery is owned and maintained by the City of Newton; the Second Church in Newton, its original owner, was known as the West Parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity-St. Paul's Episcopal Church (New Rochelle, New York)</span> Historic church in New York, United States

Trinity-St. Paul's Episcopal Church in New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It is located at the northwest corner of Huguenot Street and Division Street. This church represents the body of the majority group of New Rochelle's founding Huguenot French Calvinistic congregation that conformed to the liturgy of the established Church of England in June 1709. King George III gave Trinity its first charter in 1762. After the American Revolutionary War, Trinity became a parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridge Road Cemetery</span> Historic cemetery in Barnstable County, Massachusetts

The Bridge Road Cemetery is an historic cemetery on Bridge Road in Eastham, Massachusetts. It is a roughly 1.4-acre (0.57 ha) rectangular parcel on the west side of Bridge Road. The cemetery was established in 1720, and marks the location of the town's second meeting house. It was the second cemetery established in the town, after the Cove Burying Ground. The cemetery was in use from 1720 until the late 1880s; its earliest dated grave is marked 1754. Most of the burials took place between 1770 and about 1830, when a new cemetery was laid out further north. There is a single 20th-century burial, dated 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan Burying Ground</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

The Pan Burying Ground is an historic cemetery on 477 Main Street in Bolton, Massachusetts. Established in 1822, the cemetery was the second in the town. It was named for the area known locally as "The Pan", which had by then become the second-largest village center in the town. The original 1.18-acre (0.48 ha) plot has 400 marked graves, and is presumed to contain further unmarked graves, based on a pattern of marker layout at the rear of this portion of the cemetery. The cemetery was enlarged to 3.3 acres (1.3 ha) in the 1960s. It is distinctive in Bolton for its seven-chambered group tomb, built in 1839 at the southeast corner of the property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common Burying Ground at Sandy Bank</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

The Common Burying Ground at Sandy Bank is a historic cemetery in Malden, Massachusetts, US. It occupies a roughly rectangular parcel of land 3.3 acres (1.3 ha) in size, bounded by Medford Street on the north, Green Street on the east, Converse Avenue on the south and the Saugus Branch Railroad on the west. It is the oldest cemetery in the city, established in 1649. Its earliest probable burial dates to that same year, although the oldest gravestone, that of Alice Brackenbury, bears the date 1670. The Malden Public Library, in its local history collection, has a multi-volume set of binders that contain alphabetically ordered photographs of every grave in the cemetery with the epitaphs on each gravestone transcribed below its picture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Burying Ground (Littleton, Massachusetts)</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

The Old Burying Ground is a historic cemetery on King Street near the junction with White Street in Littleton, Massachusetts. Established in 1721, it was the town's first formal burying ground, and the only one for about one hundred years. The cemetery has 340 grave markers, dating from 1721 to 1909, although documentary evidence exists for more burials. It is a long, narrow strip of land, in which the graves are arrayed in a roughly rectilinear fashion, with older graves near the front and newer ones in the back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairview Cemetery (Dalton, Massachusetts)</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

Fairview Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Curtis Avenue in Dalton, Massachusetts. Established in 1885, the cemetery became the resting ground for many of Dalton's heavily Irish Catholic working class, and is stylistically reflective of changing trends in burial practices away from the rural cemetery movement of the mid-19th century. The cemetery, still in active use, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenwood Cemetery (Maynard, Massachusetts)</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

Glenwood Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery northeast of Parker Street and Great Road in Maynard, Massachusetts. It is one of the first municipal creations of the town after its incorporation in 1871, and is the resting place of many of its early and prominent residents, including Amory Maynard, founder of the Assabet Woolen Mill and namesake of the community. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NR#04000425) on May 12, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northfield Main Street Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Northfield Main Street Historic District is a historic district located along the full length of Main Street from Millers Brook to Pauchaug Brook in Northfield, Massachusetts. The district encompasses the part of Main Street that was laid out when Northfield was first established in the 17th century. The area has retained many of its traditional lot divisions, and features civic and residential construction from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Burying Ground (Stoneham, Massachusetts)</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

The Old Burying Ground is a historic cemetery on Pleasant and William Streets in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Established in 1726, it is the only surviving element of Stoneham's original town center, which also included a meeting house and school. It contains about 450 stones and fragments, with grave markers dating from 1728 to 1924. The stones were carved with motifs that were fairly typical of the period including urns, willows, cherubs, and winged death heads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester Village Cemetery</span> United States historic place

Chester Village Cemetery is a historic cemetery at the junction of New Hampshire Routes 102 and 121 in the center of Chester, New Hampshire. Established in 1751, it is one of the state's older cemeteries, and is particularly unusual for the large number of grave markers that were signed by their carvers. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old North Cemetery (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)</span> United States historic place

Old North Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Maplewood Avenue in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is a roughly 1.5-acre (0.61 ha) parcel of land north of the city center on the shore of North Mill Pond. Its earliest burials are dated to 1751, although it was not formally established as a cemetery until 1753. It is the largest of the city's 18th century cemeteries, and is remarkable for the relatively distant locations some of the stonecarvers came from whose work appears in it. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Parish Burial Ground</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

The First Parish Burial Ground is a historic cemetery located at 122 Centennial Avenue in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Established in 1644, the 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) site is Gloucester's oldest burying ground. It once stood at the heart of the Gloucester settlement, and was for 80 years its only cemetery. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It is now being maintained jointly by the city and the Cemetery Restoration Partnership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorchester South Burying Ground</span> Graveyard in Boston, Massachusetts

The Dorchester South Burying Ground is a historic graveyard on Dorchester Avenue in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1814, it is the second oldest cemetery in Dorchester, after the North Burying Ground. It is a roughly 2-acre (0.81 ha) parcel on the west side of Dorchester Avenue, north of Dorchester Lower Mills. A paved roadway provides circulation around the perimeter of the property. There is some evidence that the cemetery was formally terraced, due to the sloping terrain, but there is no evidence of curbing that might have been used for this purpose. One of the cemetery's most prominent features is a line of granite tombs along the southern boundary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Center Burying Yard</span> United States historic place

The Old Center Burying Yard or Center Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 30 N. Main Street in West Hartford, Connecticut. Established in 1719, it was the town's first cemetery, and its only burying ground for about seventy years. Many of West Hartford's prominent early settlers are buried here, including Noah Webster Sr. and his wife Mercy. The oldest portion of the cemetery remained in regular use until 1868, with the last documented burial in its newer section in 1971. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Cemetery</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

The Middle Cemetery is an historic cemetery on Main Street in southern Lancaster, Massachusetts. Established in 1798, it is the town's third oldest cemetery, with active burials taking place until 1969. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Settlers' Burying Ground</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

The Old Settlers' Burying Ground is an historic cemetery off Main Street in southern Lancaster, Massachusetts. Established by 1674, it is the town's oldest formal cemetery, its burials including family members of many early settlers. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Burying Ground (Watertown, Massachusetts)</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

The Old Burying Ground is the oldest documented cemetery in Watertown, Massachusetts, United States. Located at the junction of Arlington and Mount Auburn Streets in eastern Watertown, its oldest documented grave site dates to 1665, and it remained in active use into the 20th century. It was the town's first formal cemetery, and remained its only one until 1754, when the Common Street Cemetery was established. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Northfield Center Cemetery". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-21.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Northfield Center Cemetery (Northfield, Massachusetts) at Wikimedia Commons