The Town

If you have not yet seen Ben Affleck's new movie, The Town, you should know that several important events take place at the Phipps Street Burying Ground. There is also a car chase outside of Copp's Hill, but you only ever see the wall, not the interior of the graveyard.

I was so excited to see these locations. Pete, who has never been to Phipps Street, was very impressed by the fence I had to climb.

Lowell's Abandoned Cemeteries

The Lowell Sun ran a substantial article on cemetery preservation yesterday, highlighting the abandoned Hunt-Clark Cemetery. No one has been buried there since 1942 and no one is really sure who is supposed to be in charge of this. The city of Lowell does not want to take on responsibility for it, so private citizens are hoping to create a non-profit foundation to restore and preserve the gravestones.

This is actually not an uncommon occurrence — many small New England cemeteries that were once owned by families or towns have an ambiguous legal status because their most recent trustees died in the 19th century. In some towns, the municipal government takes over, while others are cared for by the local historical society, but many are left to chance. The fact that some stones in these abandoned cemetery is due to custom and watchful neighbors, rather than to legal protections or oversight.

Good luck to Kim Zunino and the other volunteers, and thanks to bob for pointing me toward this article.

African Burial Ground National Monument Opens in New York

On Saturday, the visitor's center at the African Burial Ground National Monument opened in Lower Manhattan. The museum and memorial mark the location of a graveyard used by New York's enslaved and free black communities between 1690 and 1790. In the 1990s, construction uncovered more than 400 bodies, which have been catalogued, studied, and reburied beneath the new monument.

The New York Times has a lengthy review of the new museum. The author, Edward Rothstein, is a bit skeptical of some of the exhibits' politics and questions whether the conclusions on display are supported by the evidence. I haven't visited yet, so I can't really speak to his specific criticisms, but I know that it can be very tempting to over-interpret evidence in graveyards. Still, I wish that Rothstein had interviewed some of the attendees about what the memorial meant to them. As he notes in the first sentence of his review, "Cemeteries are at least as much for the living as the dead." That's very true, and I do not necessarily think that that is a bad thing. It is the main contention of my dissertation that colonial American graveyards were political spaces from the first, so it is unsurprising that they still are today.

I'm not a great lover of New York (too big for me), but I'm excited about visiting this memorial. Wouldn't it be great if we could get a visitor's center for God's Little Acre in Newport?

Do You Haunt Graveyards?

CNN wants to know.

Bell Rock Field Trip

Yesterday, I led an excursion to Bell Rock Cemetery in Malden, MA. Several of my friends had expressed interest in visiting a graveyard with me and I figured that Bell Rock, with its high concentration of pre-1750 stones and its accessibility, would be a good choice. Unlike some of the other big 17th-century cemeteries (Granary, Copp's Hill, Phipp's Street), which are very closely groomed and well documented, Bell Rock feels a bit mysterious — a flea market rather than an auction.

I devised a scavenger hunt that would get everyone looking closely at the iconography and epitaphs. They tried to find,

•    a gravestone dated before 1680
•    a gravestone dedicated to three or more people
•    a gravestone with no iconography (letters only)
•    death imps carrying a coffin
•    a Masonic square and compass
•    a carving of a weeping willow bent over an urn
•    a winged hourglass
•    a mustache
•    a pair of breasts
•    a cross*
•    an epitaph entirely in Latin
•    an epitaph that uses the letter v rather than the letter u
•    an epitaph with an Old Style/New Style date (ex: 1691/2 or 1742/3)
•    an epitaph that gives the deceased’s age in years, months, and days
•    an epitaph that refers to a woman as the “relict” of a man
•    an epitaph that identifies the deceased’s profession (other than minister!)
•    the grave of Rev. Eliakim Willis (aka “Fish Lips”)
•    the grave of Rev. Michael Wigglesworth, poet
•    the grave of Lt. Phineas Upham, who died in King Philip’s War

One of the best things about visiting a graveyard with a group of enthusiastic friends is that fresh eyes see new things. More on that later . . .

*We managed to find two crosses (out of about 400 stones), both on 19th-century stones. No cross-shaped stones, though.

Observations

Tutor Hopkins: Today, we will practice using material objects as historical sources. When you are approaching an object, the first thing you should do is take some time to look at it carefully. Try to rid your mind of preconceptions and just make concrete observations about the object. Anything goes — just tell everyone what you see.

Undergrad #1: It's made of stone.

Tutor Hopkins: Ok, good. Does anyone know what kind of stone?

Undergrad #2: Slate?

Tutor Hopkins: You're right — it's a nice, fine-grained slate. What else?


Undergrad #3: There's a skull with wings.

Undergrad #4: And some Latin on the top.

Tutor Hopkins: Great. We're looking at the material, the iconography, and the language. Who here speaks Latin and can translate for us?

Undergrad #5: Remember Death? Time is fleeting?

Tutor Hopkins: Yep. Time flies. What else do you see?

Undergrad #6: There's an ornate floral design on the bottom.

Undergrad #7: And the top is bumpy.

Tutor Hopkins: Is this the same design aesthetic as the Georgian buildings Prof. X showed you?

Undergrad #8: No — it's sort of symmetrical, but not really geometric like the buildings.

Tutor Hopkins: Keep looking. Anything else jumping out at you?

— silence —


Tutor Hopkins: Anything surprising or unexpected?

— silence —


Tutor Hopkins: Anybody?

Undergrad #1: It's kind of . . . small.

Tutor Hopkins: I suppose. I'm a little surprised that no one has noticed the GIANT BREASTS on the borders. There are eight of them.

Undergrads #2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8: Oh! I saw those, but I didn't think they could really be . . . you know.

Tutor Hopkins: Were you expecting to see GIANT BREASTS on a gravestone from 1710?

Undergrads: No. (nervous giggling)

Tutor Hopkins: The first lesson of using objects as sources: make concrete observations without hampering yourself with expectations. You may find some strange and unexpected things.

(Very attentive undergrads go on to spend a lovely hour noticing things in the graveyard.)

Harbor View

As I stood on Burial Hill in Plymouth the other day, it occurred to me that this hill would have offered the best vantage point for viewing the harbor before the trees got so tall. The Pilgrims built their first fort on this site in 1621 and I can only imagine that they chose it for the harbor view. They probably cleared nearby trees for materials and visibility.

If 18th- and 19th-century residents of Plymouth wanted to watch ships depart, they probably stood here, among the gravestones. What an auspicious beginning for Plymouth seamen's voyages.

Mourning Doves

On the 4th of July, I took advantage of a brief respite from the rain to visit Eastern Cemetery in Portland, ME. The visit turned out to be even more fleeting than I expected because the cemetery reeked. The overpowering stench of rot had me gagging as soon as I stepped out of the car. I don't know if it was wafting in from the harbor or what, but it was awful. Worse than rotting fish. I breathed through my mouth for about 10 minutes, but I couldn't take it any longer, so I didn't get very many pictures.

I did stumble across an adorable pair of mourning doves. I promise that I wasn't chasing them — they just kept flying where I wanted to go.

The Graveyard Rabbit

Thanks to commenter VJESCI for pointing me toward this poem.

The Graveyard Rabbit (1898)

by Frank Lebby Stanton

In the white moonlight, where the willow waves,
He halfway gallops among the graves—
A tiny ghost in the gloom and gleam,
Content to dwell where the dead men dream,

But wary still!        
For they plot him ill;
For the graveyard rabbit hath a charm
(May God defend us!) to shield from harm.

Over the shimmering slabs he goes—
Every grave in the dark he knows;        
But his nest is hidden from human eye
Where headstones broken on old graves lie.

Wary still!
For they plot him ill;
For the graveyard rabbit, though sceptics scoff,        
Charmeth the witch and the wizard off!

The black man creeps, when the night is dim,
Fearful, still, on the track of him;
Or fleetly follows the way he runs,
For he heals the hurts of the conjured ones.        

Wary still!
For they plot him ill;
The soul’s bewitched that would find release,—
To the graveyard rabbit go for peace!

He holds their secret—he brings a boon        
Where winds moan wild in the dark o’ the moon;
And gold shall glitter and love smile sweet
To whoever shall sever his furry feet!

Wary still!
For they plot him ill;        
For the graveyard rabbit hath a charm
(May God defend us!) to shield from harm. 

Norwichtown Cemetery

The old graveyard in Norwichtown, Connecticut is a little tricky to find. It's tucked in behind the main roads and is not readily visible from the street, so you have to know where it is in order to find it.

Norwichtown is the old section of Norwich, Connecticut, notable for historic sites such as the Leffingwell House Museum and the grave of Samuel Huntington. Most people who recognize Huntington's name at all know him as a signer of the Declaration of Independence, but there are a few dogged Norwich residents who insist on calling him the first president of the United States.

The old burying ground is located behind Town Street, at the end of Old Cemetery Lane:

"Old Cemetery Lane" is a tiny alley with a dead end sign. It's easier to find the graveyard by looking for the McDonald's. There's a bank across the street from the McDonald's — you can park in the bank parking lot and go (carefully) over the stone wall into the graveyard. If you do find Old Cemetery Lane, there is a parking area and a wooden box with walking tour brochures just outside the gate.

Notable people buried in this graveyard:

• Samuel Huntington (signer of DofI, POTUS[?])
• Jedediah Huntington (Revolutionary War general)
• Hannah Waterman Arnold (Benedict Arnold's mother)
  

There are also oodles of other Huntingtons, as well as Backuses, Lathrops, and other prominent Norwich families.

If you decide to visit the Norwichtown graveyard, bring water and insect repellent. Most of the graves are in a hollow near a stream, and it is both muggy and buggy.

Turkeys Pay Their Respects

I often encounter wildlife in graveyards. Burying grounds are usually quiet and green, making them excellent refuges.

Today, in Franklin, Connecticut, I startled a small flock of wild turkeys. They were very skittish, so I couldn't get close before they fled into a nearby cornfield.

Buried in the Parking Lot

Today, I was running errands in Somerville when I came across the Milk Row Cemetery on Somerville Ave. Established in 1804, this graveyard holds the remains of several members of the Tufts family, a British soldier killed in the Battle of Milk Row (19 April 1775), and prominent citizens of Somerville, along with the Somerville Civil War soldiers monument. Many of the headstones seem to be in rough shape, but the city has a plan for preservation.

The Milk Row Cemetery is not exactly in the Market Basket supermarket parking lot, but it is very, very close.

It reminded me of a link I ran across a few months ago — I can't remember whether I posted it back then. Back in October, Wesley Treat's Roadside Resorts posted a collection of photos of cemeteries that have been swallowed up by parking lots. I haven't seen any of these in person, though I might stop by next time I find myself in New Jersey or Long Island. I wonder if there are any in New England.

Are there any cemeteries in your local mall parking lot?

Trumbull Burying Ground in Buttercups

 Trumbull Burying Ground, Lebanon, CT

Windham Center Cemetery

Here are some random pictures of my hometown cemetery in Windham, Connecticut.

One of things I love about the burying ground in Windham Center is the high mica of content of the local stone. When the sun hits them just right, they sparkle.

Crows of Rhode Island