Mount Wollaston Cemetery is a historic

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

at 20 Sea Street in the Merrymount neighborhood of

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

. It was founded in 1855 and added to 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 1984.

History

In 1854 when

Hancock Cemetery Hancock Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the Hancock Adams Common, across from the United First Parish Church, in Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after Reverend John Hancock (1702–1744), father of Founding Father John Hanco ...

in the center of the town had been filled to near capacity, a committee was formed at a

town meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

to determine the site of a new burial ground. The committee chose a plot of land in the town farm, which had been donated by William Coddington and was located just west of the site of Quincy's founding spot,

Mount Wollaston Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 101,636, making ...

. Through the year the cemetery committee surveyed several cemeteries in the surrounding area for landscaping and architecture ideas, including

Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum and sculpture garden located in the Forest Hills section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a public ...

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...

and

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. After consulting with Superintendent Brims of Forest Hills, Luther Briggs of Dorchester was hired to design and build the cemetery. Briggs chose a

gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style for the architecture, and used the plot dimensions adopted by Mount Auburn as a template for Mount Wollaston. The first two plots were ceremoniously purchased on May 5, 1856 by

Charles Francis Adams, Sr. Charles Francis Adams Sr. (August 18, 1807 – November 21, 1886) was an American historical editor, writer, politician, and diplomat. As United States Minister to the United Kingdom during the American Civil War, Adams was crucial to Union effort ...

, prominent attorney and son of the late former

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

Monuments

An area known as the Veterans Section, located at the main Sea Street entrance to the cemetery, features several monuments honoring members of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. The Civil War Monument, dedicated June 25, 1868, features a large granite monument surrounded by four period

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s. Other memorials include a Spanish–American War Memorial, World War I, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War Memorials and statuary monuments dedicated to the city's firemen and policemen.

Notable burials

Brooks Adams Peter Chardon Brooks Adams (June 24, 1848 – February 13, 1927) was an American attorney, historian, political scientist and a critic of capitalism. Early life and education Adams was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on June 24, 1848, son of ...

(1848–1897), historian *

(1807–1886), attorney,

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and ambassador to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Charles Francis Adams, Jr. Charles Francis Adams Jr. (May 27, 1835 – March 20, 1915) was an American author, historian, and railroad and park commissioner who served as the president of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1884 to 1890. He served as a colonel in the Union Arm ...

(1835–1915), a Union commander in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, railroad executive and historian *

Charles Francis Adams, III Charles Francis Adams III (August 2, 1866 – June 10, 1954) was an American lawyer and politician, who served as the 44th United States Secretary of the Navy under President Herbert Hoover from 1929 to 1933. He was skipper of the Resolute which ...

(1866–1954),

yachtsman A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

and

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

under President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

John Quincy Adams II John Quincy Adams II (September 22, 1833 – August 14, 1894) was an American politician who represented Quincy in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1866 to 1867, 1868 to 1869, 1871 to 1872, and from 1874 to 1875. Adams served as ...

(1833–1894), a politician, soldier, and lawyer *

Billy De Wolfe William Andrew Jones (February 18, 1907 – March 5, 1974), better known as Billy De Wolfe, was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. Early life and early stage career Born William Andr ...

(1907–1974) actor * Bob Gallagher (1928–1977), sportscaster *

Ralph Talbot Ralph Talbot (January 6, 1897 – October 25, 1918) was the first United States Marine Corps aviator to receive the Medal of Honor — for "exceptionally meritorious service and extraordinary heroism" while attached to Squadron C, U.S. 1st ...

(1897–1918), first

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

aviator to be awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

Rufus Tobey Rev. Rufus B. Tobey (1849–1920) was a Congregationalist pastor who founded the Floating Hospital for Children in Boston, which was later renamed Tufts Children's Hospital at Tufts Medical Center. Rufus Babcock Tobey was born in New Bedford, M ...

, (1849–1920), founder of

Tufts Childrens Hospital Tufts Children's Hospital (formerly Floating Hospital for Children) in Boston, Massachusetts was a downtown Boston pediatric hospital owned by Tufts Medical Center, occupying the space between Chinatown and the Boston Theater District, which ...

Harriet E. Wilson Harriet E. Wilson (March 15, 1825 – June 28, 1900) was an African-American novelist. She was the first African American to publish a novel on the North American continent. Her novel '' , or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black'' was ...

(1825–1900), considered the first female

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

novelist

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts 1855 establishments in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Quincy, Massachusetts Cemeteries in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Quincy, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Quincy, Massachusetts Rural cemeteries Cemeteries established in the 1850s

History

Monuments

Notable burials

See also

References