Hillside Cemetery (Westford, Massachusetts)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hillside Cemetery, also known as the North Burying Ground, is a historic
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
on Depot and Nutting Roads in
Westford, Massachusetts Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was at 24,643 at the time of the 2020 Census. History Westford began as 'West Chelmsford', a village in the town of Chelmsford. The village of West Chelmsfor ...
. The cemetery was established in 1753, and is the burial site of a number of people important in local history. It contains approximately 300 burials, and continues in active use. The cemetery was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2005.


Description and history

Hillside Cemetery is a rectangular parcel about in size, set at the northwest corner of Nutting Road and Depot Street in central northern Westford. Raised above the streets, its street-facing sides are lined with granite retaining walls topped by split capstones, with dry-laid fieldstone walls around the other two sides. A paved drive skirts around the northern and western sides, joining the two principal entrances; pedestrian access is also possible via stairs in the south wall. The cemetery is laid out in a typical colonial-period rectilinear form. Some family plots are bounded by granite curbing, varying in height. There are about 300 burials, the earliest labeled grave dating to 1761. The cemetery was established in 1753 with a gift to the town of its land by Ebenezer and Thomas Wright (the latter of whom is interred here). The oldest dated grave is that of Jacob and Abigail Wright, a married couple both of whom died in 1761. The earliest markers are typically slate, while granite and marble appear in the markers and memorials of the 19th and 20th centuries. There are several obelisks (including one with a triangular cross-section), all placed in the second half of the 19th century. There are two zinc burial markers, both manufactured by the Monumental Bronze Company of
Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
for members of the Keyes family.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Massachusetts This is a listing of places in Middlesex County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. With more than 1,300 listings, the county has more listings than any other county in the United Stat ...


References


External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Cemeteries in Middlesex County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Westford, Massachusetts