Walnut Hills Cemetery (Brookline, Massachusetts)
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Walnut Hills Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Grove Street and Allandale Road in
Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...
. It encompasses , with mature trees and puddingstone outcrops, and was laid out in 1875 in the then-fashionable
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 ...
style. Many past prominent citizens of the town, including architect
H. H. Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
, are buried here. 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 1985.


Description and history

Walnut Hills Cemetery is located in southern Brookline, south of the junction of Grove Street and Allandale Road. Its main entrance is at that junction, with a secondary entrance a short way to the west on Grove Street. It is flanked on the south and west sides by residential areas. Covering about , the cemetery is characterized by rolling hills, with occasional steep slopes, and mature plantings. Paved and unpaved roads and paths wind through the cemetery, following the contours of the terrain. The cemetery's built features include its receiving tomb, built in 1901 to a design by
Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. (August 18, 1854, Portland, Maine – February 16, 1934, Portland) was an American architect and nephew of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Biography Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. was the son of Alexan ...
The cluster of utility buildings, including a stable and shed, were designed by
Guy Lowell Guy Lowell (August 6, 1870 – February 4, 1927), was an American architect and landscape architect. Biography Born in Boston, Lowell was the son of Mary Walcott (Goodrich) and Edward Jackson Lowell, and a member of Boston's well-known Lo ...
(who is interred here) and built in 1901; Lowell is also the likely designer of the superintendent's cottage that stands near the secondary entrance. In 1874 the town of Brookline authorized the purchase of for a new cemetery, as its Old Burying Ground was filling up. The town retained two landscape gardeners, Ernest Bowditch and Franklin Copeland, to oversee its layout. Most of the design for its network of lanes and paths is credited to Bowditch. The cemetery was enlarged by in 1918 and in 1926 to reach its present size. The first parts of the cemetery to be filled have mostly granite headstones, often with symbolic figures. In 1886, the cemetery laid down strict new rules, requiring use of slate and enforcing dimensional restrictions. These rules were later relaxed to allow for the use of dark Quincy granite, and then other forms of granite.


Notable burials

Several individuals of local and national importance are buried here, including: * Thomas Aspinwall (1786–1876) — second-longest-serving United States consul *
Gaspar G. Bacon Gaspar Griswold Bacon, Sr. (March 7, 1886 – December 25, 1947) served on the board of overseers of Harvard University, as the President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1929 to 1932 and as the 51st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, lieutena ...
(1886–1947) — 51st
lieutenant governor of Massachusetts The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...
and
President of the Massachusetts Senate The president of the Massachusetts Senate is the presiding officer. Unlike the United States Congress, in which the vice president of the United States is the ''ex officio'' president of the United States Senate, in Massachusetts, the president of ...
from 1929–1932 *
Robert Bacon Robert Bacon (July 5, 1860 – May 29, 1919) was an American statesman and diplomat. He was also a leading banker and businessman who worked closely with Secretary of State Elihu Root, 1905-1909, and served as United States Secretary of Sta ...
(1860–1919) — statesman and diplomat * Rev. Luther F. Beecher (1813–1903) — author of Gone From My Sight, cousin of
Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
and
Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
*
Arthur Tracy Cabot Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...
(1852–1912) — surgeon and president of the
Massachusetts Medical Society The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the oldest continuously operating state medical association in the United States. Incorporated on November 1, 1781, by an act of the Massachusetts General Court, the MMS is a non-profit organization th ...
* Elizabeth Rogers Mason Cabot (1834–1920) — diarist and philanthropist *
Godfrey Lowell Cabot Godfrey Lowell Cabot (February 26, 1861 – November 2, 1962) was an American industrialist who founded the Cabot Corporation. Early life Godfrey Lowell Cabot was born in Boston, Massachusetts and attended Boston Latin School. His father was Sa ...
(1861–1962) — industrialist who founded the
Cabot Corporation Cabot Corporation is an American specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company operates in over 20 countries with 36 manufacturing plants, eight research and development facilities and ...
*
James Elliot Cabot James Elliot Cabot (June 18, 1821 – January 16, 1903) was an American philosopher and author, born in Boston to Samuel Cabot, Jr., and Eliza Cabot. James (known by his family and friends as "Elliot") had six brothers: Thomas Handasyd Cabot (b. ...
(1821–1903) — philosopher and author *
John Moors Cabot John Moors Cabot (December 11, 1901 – February 24, 1981) was an American diplomat and U.S. Ambassador to five nations during the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy administrations. He also served as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American ...
(1901–1981) — diplomat and
U.S. Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as Ambassador-at-large, ...
*
Samuel Cabot Jr. Samuel Cabot Jr. (December 21, 1784 – September 2, 1863) was an American businessman in the early-nineteenth-century China Trade, a member of the wealthy and prominent Cabot family. Early life Cabot was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Decemb ...
(1784–1863) — Boston businessman and merchant in the
Old China Trade The Old China Trade () refers to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844. The Old C ...
*
Samuel Cabot III Samuel Cabot III (September 20, 1815 – April 13, 1885) was an American physician, surgeon, and ornithologist, as well as a member of the wealthy and prominent Cabot family. Early life Samuel Cabot III was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Sept ...
(1815–1885) — physician, surgeon, and
ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
*
Artie Clarke Arthur Franklin Clarke (1865–1949) was a Major League Baseball player. He played for the New York Giants of the National League in 1890–1891. He played college ball at Brown University and Williams College Williams College is a private ...
(1865–1949) —
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player for the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
*
Jennie Collins Jane "Jennie" Collins (1828–1887) was an American labor reformer, humanitarian, and suffragist. Orphaned as a child, she supported herself at 14 by working in the cotton mills, and later as a domestic and a seamstress. She was active in the aboli ...
(1828–1887) —
labor reformer The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...
,
humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
, and
suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
* Elliott Carr Cutler (1888–1947) — surgeon, military physician, and medical educator *
Albert Elijah Dunning Albert Elijah Dunning (January 5, 1844 – November 14, 1923) was an American Congregationalist theologian. Biography He was born in Brookfield, Connecticut and attended the Fort Edward Institute (1860–1861). He graduated from Bryant & Strat ...
(1844–1923) — Congregationalist
theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
and religious author * Desmond Fitzgerald (1846–1926) — president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, was a trustee of the Walnut Hills Cemetery *
Horace Williams Fuller Horace Williams Fuller (June 15, 1844 – October 26, 1901) was an American lawyer and editor who served as the first editor of ''The Green Bag'', a late-19th- and early-20th century legal news and humor magazine. Life and career Born in Aug ...
(1844–1901) — lawyer and editor who served as the first editor of ''The Green Bag'' *
Sears Gallagher Sears Gallagher (1869–1955) was a prolific, commercially successful American artist proficient in multiple media: drawing, etching, watercolor and oil painting. His work consists largely of landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes depicting his ...
(1869–1955) — New England artist *
Norman Geschwind Norman Geschwind (January 8, 1926 – November 4, 1984) was a pioneering American Behavioral neurology, behavioral neurologist, best known for his exploration of behavioral neurology through disconnection models based on lesion analysis. Earl ...
(1926–1984) — pioneer in
behavioral neurology Behavioral neurology is a subspecialty of neurology that studies the impact of neurological damage and disease upon behavior, memory, and cognition, and the treatment thereof. Two fields associated with behavioral neurology are neuropsychiatry and ...
* Christopher A. Iannella (1913–1992) — member and president of the
Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...
*
Ernest Ludvig Ipsen Ernest L. Ipsen (1869-1951) was an American painter specializing in portraiture. He painted hundreds of portraits commissioned by institutions of government, education, religion, and commerce who wanted to commemorate their associates. His subjec ...
(1869–1951) — painter specializing in portraiture *
James T. Kelley James or Jim Kelley may refer to: People *James Kelley (Pennsylvania state senator) (James Reeves Kelley, born c. 1933), Pennsylvania judge and politician * James R. Kelley (Pennsylvania state representative) (1839–1871), speaker of the Pennsylva ...
(1855–1929) — architect and founding member of the
Boston Architectural Club Boston Architectural College, also known as The BAC, is New England's largest private college of spatial design. It offers first-professional bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and ...
*
Guy Lowell Guy Lowell (August 6, 1870 – February 4, 1927), was an American architect and landscape architect. Biography Born in Boston, Lowell was the son of Mary Walcott (Goodrich) and Edward Jackson Lowell, and a member of Boston's well-known Lo ...
(1870–1927) — architect and
landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...
, notably designed the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
and
New York County Courthouse The New York State Supreme Court Building, originally known as the New York County Courthouse, at 60 Centre Street on Foley Square in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, houses the Civil and Appellate Terms of the New Yor ...
*
Alexander Marble Alexander Marble (February 2, 1902 – September 13, 1992) was an American diabetologist who spent the majority of his career at the Joslin Diabetes Center. Life and career Marble was born in 1902 in Troy, Kansas. He attended the University of Kan ...
(1902–1992) —
diabetologist Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
, worked at the
Joslin Diabetes Center Joslin Diabetes Center is the world's largest diabetes research center, diabetes clinic, and provider of diabetes education. It is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Among the Harvard Medica ...
*
Fred Newman (baseball) Frederick William Newman (February 21, 1942 – June 24, 1987) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 108 games pitched, 93 as a starter, over six seasons (1962–67) for the Los Angeles/California ...
(1942–1987) —
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher for the Los Angeles/California Angels *
John Charles Olmsted John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920), was an American landscape architect. The nephew and adopted son of Frederick Law Olmsted, he worked with his father and his younger brother, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., in their father's firm. After their fat ...
(1852–1920) — landscape architect, nephew and adopted son of
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
*
Olive Higgins Prouty Olive Higgins Prouty (10 January 1882 – 24 March 1974) was an American novelist and poet, best known for her 1923 novel '' Stella Dallas'' and her pioneering consideration of psychotherapy in her 1941 novel ''Now, Voyager''. Life and influ ...
(1882–1974) —
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...
and
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
, best known for her novels '' Stella Dallas'' (1923) and ''
Now, Voyager ''Now, Voyager'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty. Prouty bor ...
'' (1941) *
H. H. Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
(1838–1886) — architect known for his
Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...
style and works such as the
New York State Capitol The New York State Capitol, the seat of the Government of New York State, New York state government, is located in Albany, New York, Albany, the List of U.S. state capitals, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The seat o ...
, Trinity Church, and
Allegheny County Courthouse The Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is part of a complex (along with the old Allegheny County Jail) designed by H. H. Richardson. The buildings are considered among the finest examples of the Romanesque Revi ...
*
Charles Hercules Rutan Charles Hercules Rutan (March 28, 1851 – December 17, 1914) was an American architect best known as a partner in the firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge of Boston and Chicago, successors to the firm of architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Life a ...
(1851–1914) — architect and partner of
Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic, religious, and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry ...
with works such as the
Chicago Cultural Center The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building operated by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events that houses the city's official reception venue where the Mayor of Chicago has welcomed preside ...
and
South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...
in Boston *
Charles Sprague Sargent Charles Sprague Sargent (April 24, 1841 – March 22, 1927) was an American botanist. He was appointed in 1872 as the first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, and held the post until his death. He pub ...
(1841–1927) —
botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
, founder and first leader of Boston's
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...
. * Julius Adolphe Schweinfurth (1858–1931) — architect and partnered with his brother Charles F. Schweinfurth * Henry Richardson Shepley (1887–1962) — architect and son of George Foster Shepley *
Charles Carroll Soule __NOTOC__ Charles Carroll Soule (June 25, 1842 – January 7, 1913) was an American bookman with a side specialty in the architecture of libraries. Born in Boston to Richard Soule, Jr. (1812–1877) and Harriet Winsor (1816–1905) he ...
(1842–1913) — bookman, established the Boston Book Company and '' The Green Bag'' with
Horace Williams Fuller Horace Williams Fuller (June 15, 1844 – October 26, 1901) was an American lawyer and editor who served as the first editor of ''The Green Bag'', a late-19th- and early-20th century legal news and humor magazine. Life and career Born in Aug ...
* John Goddard Stearns Jr. (1843–1917) — architect and cofounder of
Peabody & Stearns Peabody & Stearns was a premier architectural firm in the Eastern United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the firm consisted of Robert Swain Peabody (1845–1917) and John Goddard Stearns J ...
, notable works include
Kragsyde Kragsyde (1883–85 – 1929) was a Shingle style mansion designed by the Boston architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns and built at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. Although long demolished, it is considered an icon of American arc ...
,
The Breakers The Breakers is a Gilded Age mansion located at 44 Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, US. It was built between 1893 and 1895 as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. The 70-room mans ...
, and the
Custom House Tower The Custom House Tower is a skyscraper in McKinley Square, in the Financial District neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The original building was constructed in 1837–47 and was designed by Ammi Burnham Young in the Greek Revival style. The ...
in Boston * Daniel Tyler Jr. (1899–1967) — Massachusetts political figure *
Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...
(1917–1996) —
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...
player in the minor leagues, played
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
*
Herbert Langford Warren Herbert Langford Warren (29 March 1857 – 27 June 1917) was an architect who practiced in New England. He is noted for his involvement in the American Arts and Crafts movement, and as the founder of the School of Architecture at Harvard Unive ...
(1857–1917) — architect and founder of the School of Architecture at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
* Sherman L. Whipple (1862–1930) — attorney and one of Boston's leading trial lawyers * Eliza Orne White (1856–1947) — author *
Edward Zambara Edward Zambara (1926 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – August 7, 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA) was a Canadian-American bass-baritone singer and leading music educator. Training He studied opera with Boris Goldovsky and Sarah Caldw ...
(1926–2007) — Canadian-American
bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...
singer and music educator


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Brookline, Massachusetts This is a list of properties on the National Register of Historic Places in Brookline, Massachusetts. Current listings See also * National Re ...


References


External links


Town of Brookline - Walnut Hills Cemetery
* {{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts 1875 establishments in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Brookline, Massachusetts Cemeteries in Norfolk County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Brookline, Massachusetts Rural cemeteries Cemeteries established in the 1870s