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.
Description and history
Fairview Cemetery is located in a residential area north of Dalton's Main Street, and consists of about , bounded by Warren Avenue on the west, Washington Street on the north, and Curtis Avenue on the east, with residences lining John Street to the south. It has the same number of plots as the larger (10-acre)
Main Street Cemetery
The Main Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Main Street in Dalton, Massachusetts. Although the cemetery dates to 1781, much of it was laid out in the 19th century, during the rural cemetery movement. Its most prominent burials are those ...
. The street side of the cemetery, facing Curtis Street, is lined with wrought iron fencing, and features a main gate with granite gateposts. The remaining sides of the cemetery are closed off from the surrounding neighborhood by chain link fencing. The grounds of the cemetery were designed in the fashionable
rural cemetery style, with winding paths and mature plantings, although the density of plots is somewhat higher than typical. Most of the grave markers are modest in scope and scale. The cemetery continues in active use.
Dalton's Catholic population grew in the mid-19th century with an influx of Irish immigrants, who worked mainly as farmers and laborers. By 1861 a mission church had been established, and St. Agnes was established as its first permanent congregation in 1881. The church leadership also sought to establish a cemetery dedicated to Catholics, their burials taking place in the Main Street Cemetery prior to the founding of Fairview. The cemetery was actually established by the town, which established a committee of trustees for it in 1885. The land was bought from the Carson & Brown Company in 1885, after a planned division of the Main Street Cemetery and acquisition of adjacent lands fell through.
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See also
* Main Street Cemetery
The Main Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Main Street in Dalton, Massachusetts. Although the cemetery dates to 1781, much of it was laid out in the 19th century, during the rural cemetery movement. Its most prominent burials are those ...
* East Main Street Cemetery
The East Main Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery on East Main Street in Dalton, Massachusetts. The cemetery is one of the oldest in the town, with grave markers dating to the 1780s. It was founded on land owned by the Chamberlin family, wh ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
References
External links
*
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Cemeteries in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Dalton, Massachusetts
Rural cemeteries
Cemeteries established in the 1880s
1885 establishments in Massachusetts