Monument to soldiers who died at Camp Meigs

The Old Village Cemetery is an 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 ...

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

History

The first portion of the cemetery was set apart at the first recorded meeting of the settlers of Dedham on August 18, 1636, with land taken from Nicholas Phillips and Joseph Kingsbury. The original boundaries were roughly Village Avenue on the north, St. Paul's Church in the east, land later added by Dr. Edward Stimson in the south, and the main driveway off Village Avenue in the west. It remained the only cemetery in Dedham for nearly 250 years until Brookdale Cemetery was established. Many of the early ministers and founders of the town are buried there, including John Allen, Joseph Belcher,

Samuel Dexter Samuel Dexter (May 14, 1761May 4, 1816) was an early American statesman who served both in Congress and in the Presidential Cabinets of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Dexter was an 1881 graduate of Harvard ...

, Edward Alleyn, and

Eleazer Lusher Major Eleazer Lusher (died 1672) was a politician and military leader from Dedham, Massachusetts. Political career Lusher had unmatched political influence in Dedham and was one of the most powerful men in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was ...

. A road, today known as Bullard Street, was established in 1664 between the

First Church and Parish in Dedham First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

to the cemetery. Graves were dug six feet deep and due east to west, with the feet placed at the eastern end in preparation for the

final judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

with Christ coming from the east. John Fisher's was the first recorded death in Dedham on the "5th of ye 5 mo 1637," but the oldest gravestone still standing is from Hannah Dyar, who died September 15, 1678. The cemetery also holds the remains of Civil War soldiers who died at Camp Meigs. Additionally, 15 soldiers who died in the war are buried there. There is another monument to the ship ''

Maritana ''Maritana'' is a three-act opera including both spoken dialogue and some recitatives, composed by William Vincent Wallace, with a libretto by Edward Fitzball (1792–1873). The opera is based on the 1844 French play ''Don César de Bazan'' by ...

'' which sank off the coast of

Nahant Nahant is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,334 at the 2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County. With just of land area, it is the smallest municipality by are ...

. The captain, G.W. Williams, had family in Dedham and his funeral was held from there. Few tombs exist in the cemetery: one built by Timothy Dwight around 1700, one by Daniel Fisher, one by

after the death of his father, the minister of the same name, and Edward Dowse. The parish tomb was built in 1816, and a number of tombs have been added to it in the years since.

Additions

In 1800, another acre was added through purchase. In 1859, Stimson purchased land that was originally part of an old Dedham High School's grounds for $1,000. In 1861, he divided the land into burial plots and his son conveyed the land to the Town in 1881.

Restoration efforts

The cemetery is part of the

Dedham Village Historic District The Dedham Village Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic center of Dedham, Massachusetts. Its principal focus is a stretch of High Street between Bridge and Ames Streets; it extends south along Bridge Street to H ...

. In 2017, an effort was undertaken to raise $1,000,000 to restore the cemetery by the Dedham Village Preservation Association. The Association, along with the Town, selected Boston's

Halvorson Design Partnership Halvorson is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * David Halvorson (1948–2013), American politician *Debbie Halvorson (born 1958), Illinois politician *Gary Halvorson, American television and film director *George Halvorson (born ...

to undertake the project. The phased renovations and improvements will include landscaping and hardscaping, including paths, steps, and ironwork fencing, and future improvements to the cemetery grounds. In 2019, the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

appropriated $150,000 towards the effort. In 1842, a fair was held by the ladies of the Society for the Improvement of the Burial Ground". They raised $234.

Notes

References

Works cited

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External links

List of burials
{{coord, 42.247, -71.179, type:landmark_region:US-MA, display=title 1636 establishments in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Dedham, Massachusetts Cemeteries in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Burials at Old Village Cemetery Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Cemeteries established in the 17th century