Ledge Cemetery, also known as the Cemetery under the Ledge,''Collections and Proceedings of the Maine Historical Society'',

Maine Historical Society The Maine Historical Society is the official state historical society of Maine. It is located at 489 Congress Street in downtown Portland. The Society currently operates the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, a National Historic Landmark, Longfellow Ga ...

(1899), p. 76 is a historic cemetery in

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, United States. Dating to 1770, it stands on Gilman Road, around southwest of the older and smaller Pioneer Cemetery.''Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636-1936: A History'', William Hutchinson Rowe (1937) Some headstones bear dates earlier than 1770, for many burials — such as that of Revd. Nicholas Loring — were removed from the older cemetery The original

First Parish Congregational Church The First Parish Congregational Church is a historic church at 116 Main Street in Yarmouth, Maine. The congregation was established in 1730, as the ninth church founded in what is now Maine. The current Italianate meeting house was constructed ...

, known as the Old Ledge Meetinghouse, stood near the site between 1730 and 1818. Its first pastor was Reverend Ammi Ruhamah Cutter.

Tristram Gilman Tristram Gilman (November 24, 1735 – April 1, 1809) was an American Congregational minister who served as the fourth pastor of the "Old Ledge" meetinghouse in what was then North Yarmouth, Massachusetts (now Yarmouth, Maine), for forty years ...

, for whom Gilman Road is named, was the fourth pastor. He served in the role for forty years, and was buried in the Ledge Cemetery upon his death in 1809, aged 73. His wife, Elizabeth Sayer, is buried beside him.''Yarmouth Revisited'', Amy Aldredge Several

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

s are also interred here, including those from the Drinkwater family. Captain Theophilus Drinkwater, son of Allen and Hannah Drinkwater, gave his name to nearby Drinkwater Point Road."Old Times: a magazine devoted to the preservation and publication of documents relating to the early history of North Yarmouth, Maine"
/ref> Of a settlement that originally contained a school, a tavern and a cemetery, only the cemetery and the ledge doorstep of the church remain.

Notable burials

* Ammi Ruhamah Cutter (1705–1746), first pastor of the Old Ledge Meetinghouse *Reverend Nicholas Loring (1711–1763), second pastor of the Old Ledge Meetinghouse; died in the role"North Yarmouth, Maine. First Church"
–

Congregational Library & Archives The Congregational Library & Archives is an independent special collections library and archives. It is located on the second floor of the Congregational House at 14 Beacon Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The Lib ...

*Honorable Jeremiah Powell (1720–1784), in the now-unmarked Powell tomb behind that of deacon Jacob Mitchell *Jacob Mitchell (1696–1784), deacon *

(1735–1809), fourth pastor of the church that formerly stood on the site, namesake of Gilman Road *Captain

Cushing Prince Jr. Cushing Prince (October 15, 1786 – March 7, 1869) was an American sea captain in the first half of the 19th century. Life and career Prince was born on October 15, 1786, in North Yarmouth, Massachusetts (now in Maine), to Cushing Prince and ...

(1786–1869), sea captain *Captain Reuben Prince (1792–1870), sea captain *Captain Theophilus Drinkwater (1792–1872), namesake of Drinkwater Point Road * Giles Loring (1813–1893), shipwright

Gallery

File:Ledge Cemetery 1.jpg, alt=Looking south across the cemetery toward Broad Cove, Looking southwest across the cemetery toward the northern tip of Broad Cove File:Tristram Gilman.jpg, The headstone of Tristram Gilman, the fourth pastor of the former Meetinghouse under the Ledge File:Historic Yarmouth information board.jpg, An information board marking sites of interest in and around the two cemeteries

References

{{reflist 1770 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Cemeteries in Yarmouth, Maine