Lowell Cemetery is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

located in Lowell,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Founded in 1841 and located on the banks of the

Concord River The Concord River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern Massachusetts, United States. The river drains a s ...

, the cemetery is one of the oldest garden cemeteries in the nation, inspired by

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. Many of Lowell's wealthy industrialists are buried here, under ornate Victorian tombstones. A portion of the cemetery was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1998.

Description and history

The cemetery is located in the central eastern part of the city, roughly bounded on the north by Fort Hill Park, on the east by Shedd Park, on the south by railroad tracks, and on the west by the

, from which it is separated by Lawrence Street, where its historic main gate is located. It occupies 84 acres of rolling terrain, much of which has been developed. The main gate is a monumental granite structure designed by C. W. Painter and built in 1862. There is a secondary gate on Knapp Avenue at the cemetery's northeast corner, which was added in 1905. There are two buildings in the cemetery: the Talbot Memorial Chapel (1885) and the Superintendent's Office (1887), both Gothic Revival structures designed by

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

architect

Frederick Stickney Frederick Warren Stickney (June 17, 1853''Massachusetts, Birth Records, 1840-1915'' – January 18, 1918) was an American architect. Early years Stickney was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Daniel and Betsey Stickney. He attended MIT and later w ...

. Roadways in the cemetery were laid out to take advantage of the natural terrain, occasionally providing vistas. The main circulation route, Washington Avenue, roughly encircles the property, with several roads providing access across the central areas. The cemetery was laid out in 1841 to a design by George P. Worcester, a civil engineer, applying principles of the

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-19th century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries, which tended to be churchyards. Rural cemeter ...

movement that was then just coming into vogue. The cemetery has a wide variety of funerary art in diverse styles, from typical Victorian forms to the Egyptian Revival and Art Deco. Many prominent Lowell residents of the 19th and 20th centuries are interred here.

Notable burials

Henry Livermore Abbott Henry Livermore Abbott (January 21, 1842 – May 6, 1864) was a Major (United States), Major in the Union Army during the American Civil War (Civil War).Eicher, John H. and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', p. 97. Stanford University ...

– Brevet Brigadier General in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Charles Herbert Allen Charles Herbert Allen (April 15, 1848 – April 20, 1934) was an American politician and businessman. After serving in state and federal elected positions, he was appointed as the first United States-appointed civilian governor of Puerto Rico wh ...

– Congressman; First US civilian governor of Puerto Rico *

Frederick Ayer Frederick Ayer (December 8, 1822 – March 14, 1918) was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon James Cook Ayer. Early life Ayer was born on December 8, 1822, in Ledyard, Connecticut, and was the son of F ...

– Industrialist; co-founder of the

American Woolen Company The American Woolen Company is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of men's and women's worsted and woolen fabrics. Based in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, the company operates from the 160-year-old Warren Mills, which it acquired from Loro P ...

James Cook Ayer James Cook Ayer (May 5, 1818 – July 3, 1878) was the wealthiest patent medicine A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and adver ...

– patent medicine tycoon * Benjamin Dean – Congressman *

James B. Francis James Bicheno Francis (May 18, 1815 – September 18, 1892) was a British-American civil engineer, who invented the Francis turbine. Early years James Francis was born in South Leigh, near Witney, Oxfordshire, in England, United Kingdom. ...

– chief engineer of

Proprietors of Locks and Canals The Proprietors of Locks and Canals on Merrimack River is a limited liability corporation founded on June 27, 1792, making it one of the oldest corporations in the United States. Its named incorporators were Dudley Atkins Tyng, William Coombs, Jose ...

* Frederic T. Greenhalge – Congressman and

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...

* Chauncey Langdon Knapp – Congressman *

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...

– Congressman *

John Jacob Rogers John Jacob Rogers (August 18, 1881 – March 28, 1925) was an American lawyer and politician who served seven terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1913 until his death in office in 1925. His wife ...

– Congressman *

Edith Nourse Rogers Edith Rogers (née Nourse; March 19, 1881 – September 10, 1960) was an American social welfare Volunteering, volunteer and politician who served as a Republican in the United States Congress. She was the first woman elected to Congress fro ...

– Congressman *

Augustin Thompson Augustin Thompson (November 25, 1835 – June 8, 1903) was a physician, businessman and philanthropist who created the Moxie soft drink and the company that manufactured it (now part of the Coca-Cola Company). Early life and Civil War service T ...

– inventor of

Moxie Moxie is a brand of carbonated beverage that is among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It was created around 1876 by Augustin Thompson as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" and was produced in Lowell, Massa ...

Paul Tsongas Paul Efthemios Tsongas ( ; February 14, 1941 – January 18, 1997) was an American politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1979 until 1985 and in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1 ...

– United States Senator *

Tappan Wentworth Theodore Trapplan "Tappan" Michael Wentworth (February 24, 1802 – June 12, 1875) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1853 to 1855. Early life and career Wentworth was b ...

– Congressman

Gallery

File:The Ayer Lion Monument, Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, MA (August 2019).jpg, ''Ayer Lion'' Monument to

(1880),

Albert Bruce-Joy Albert Bruce-Joy (21 August 1842 – 22 July 1924) was an Irish sculptor working in England. His original surname was Joy but he became known under his hyphenated name Bruce-Joy later in life. He was the brother of the painter George W. Joy. B ...

, sculptor. File:Storey Memorial by Evelyn Longman, Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, MA - March 2016.JPG, Storey Memorial (1905),

Evelyn Beatrice Longman Evelyn Beatrice Longman (November 21, 1874 – March 10, 1954) was an American sculptor whose allegorical figure works were commissioned as monuments and memorials, adornment for public buildings, and attractions at art expositions in the early ...

, sculptor. File:Mill Girl Monument to Louisa Maria Wells by Evelyn Longman, Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, MA - March 2016.JPG, ''Mill Girl'' Monument to Louisa Maria Wells (1906),

, sculptor. File:Seated Woman Monument, Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, MA - March 2016.JPG, Seated Woman Monument (1916),

Francis Edwin Elwell Francis Edwin Elwell (also cited as Frank Edwin Elwell; June 15, 1858, in Concord, Massachusetts – January 23, 1922, in Darien, Massachusetts) was an American sculptor, teacher, and author. He lectured on art at Harvard University, and taught ...

, sculptor.

References

External links

* * {{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Lowell, Massachusetts Cemeteries in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Lowell, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Lowell, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts 1841 establishments in Massachusetts Rural cemeteries Cemeteries established in the 1840s

Description and history

Notable burials

Gallery

See also

References

External links