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

located at 496 Riverside Street in

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

, on the western bank of the

Naugatuck River The Naugatuck River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Its waters carve out the Naugatuck River Valley in the w ...

. Dedicated on September 24, 1853, it is in size and includes winding tree-lined paths, upper and lower ponds and an array of funerary monuments in the

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

, neo-classical, and romantic style. The property also includes many older burials and headstones dating back to the late 1700s which were relocated from the defunct Grand Street burial ground. The cemetery was added to 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 1988.

History

From the late 1700s to the mid 1800s, burials in Waterbury took place at the old burial grounds now known as Library Park on Grand Street. The first suggestion for a new cemetery in Waterbury was made in 1849 by Dr. Amos S. Blake. An association was formed on March 6, 1850 and money was raised through the sale of burial lots. The bronze statue,

Wisdom Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...

, on the Benedict family monument was designed by Truman Howe Bartlett in 1871 and sculpted by

Ferdinand von Miller Ferdinand von Miller (18 October 1813 – 11 February 1887) was a German artisan who is noted for his furtherance of bronze founding. Biography Von Miller was born in Fürstenfeldbruck. After a sojourn at the academy in Munich and a preliminar ...

in 1872.

Riverside Cemetery Waterbury Chapel and Gate

The

modern Gothic Modern Gothic, also known as Reformed Gothic, was an Aesthetic Movement style of the 1860s and 1870s in architecture, furniture and decorative arts, that was popular in Great Britain and the United States. A rebellion against the excessive orname ...

Hall Memorial Chapel was designed by noted Waterbury architect Robert W. Hill and completed in 1885. The monument to Civil War Colonel John Lyman Chatfield was designed by George Edwin Bissell and was unveiled at a ceremony on September 13, 1887. The Elton Memorial Vase sits at the entrance of the cemetery. It was designed by George Edwin Bissell and

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

by Fonderia Galli in 1905. The bronze monument depicts four scenes from the Life of Christ. The first side depicts the adoration of the Wise Men; the second side, the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

; the third side, the

entombment A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immurement'', althou ...

; and the fourth side, the

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

. Decorative figures carrying wreaths form the handles with the vase supported by cherubs. The large bronze figures on the side of the vase depict

Grief Grief is the response to the loss of something deemed important, particularly to the death of a person to whom or animal to which a Human bonding, bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, ...

and

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

Notable Burials

Ruth Muskrat Bronson Ruth Muskrat Bronson (October 3, 1897 – June 12, 1982) was a Cherokee Nation poet, educator and Indian rights activist. After completing her education, Bronson became the first Guidance and Placement Officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Sh ...

(1897–1982),

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

poet, educator and Native-American rights activist * Calvin Holmes Carter (1829–1887), politician * Franklin Carter (1837–1919), president of Williams College * John Lyman Chatfield (1826–1863), U.S. Civil War Union Army Colonel * Augustus Sabin Chase (1828–1896), industrialist * John Prince Elton (1809–1864), industrialist *

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

, (1743–1798), African-American slave * Edward Wheeler Goss (1893–1972), U.S. Congressman * Wilfred E. Griggs (1866–1918), architect * Robert W. Hill (1828–1909), architect * David Hoadley (1774–1839), architect * Stephen Wright Kellogg (1822–1904), U.S. Congressman * Green Kendrick (1798–1873), 43rd Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut * George L. Lilley (1859–1909), U.S. Congressman, 63rd Governor of Connecticut * William Hampton Patton (1853–1918), entomologist * Charles A. Templeton (1871–1955), 68th Governor of Connecticut * Allen B. Wilson (1823–1888), inventor and sewing machine manufacturer

Gallery

File:Monument to Edward Leach (Elk Statue by Eli Harvey), Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, CT - September 2014.JPG, Monument to Edward Leach (Elk Statue by Eli Harvey), Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, CT - September 2014, The bronze elk statue by

Eli Harvey Eli Harvey (September 23, 1860 – February 10, 1957) was an American sculptor, painter and animalier. Biography Harvey was born in Ogden, Ohio, a Quaker community in Clinton County, Ohio, Clinton County, to William P. and Nancy M. Harvey. He ...

on the grave of Edward Leach File:John Lyman Chatfield Monument by George Edwin Bissell, Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, CT - February 2016.JPG, The John Lyman Chatfield Monument by George Edwin Bissell was unveiled in 1887 File:Booth Statue.jpg, The Booth monument File:Benedict Monument by Ferdinand von Miller, Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury, CT - January 2016.JPG, The statue, Wisdom, on the Benedict Family Monument was designed by Truman Howe Bartlett and sculpted by

File:High view.jpg, A view from the hill

Citations

References

* *

External links

Riverside Cemetery Association website

National Register of Historic Places listing
* {{National Register of Historic Places 1853 establishments in Connecticut Buildings and structures in Waterbury, Connecticut Cemeteries established in the 1850s Cemeteries in New Haven County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut Rural cemeteries