Springfield Cemetery is located in the Connecticut River Valley city of Springfield, Massachusetts. The cemetery opened in 1841 and was planned on the model of a

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 ...

. With the relocation of remains from the city's earliest burying ground, the cemetery became the final resting place for many of Springfield's 17th and 18th century pioneer settlers.

History

The Springfield Cemetery was designed in the landscaped tradition of the

, evoking a pastoral, garden environment in an urban setting. The cemetery is located on a plot of land once owned by Martha Ferre and known as ‘Martha’s Dingle’. A dingle is a small wooded valley, a dell. The land was purchased from Alexander Bliss on May 28, 1841 for the purpose of establishing the cemetery. The first burial occurred on September 6, 1841, Early in its history the cemetery was also known as ‘Peabody Cemetery’, in recognizer of one of its founders, Rev. William Peabody, a local Unitarian minister. In 1848 the remains of Springfield's earliest European settlers were transferred to the cemetery from the Old Burying Ground by the Connecticut River. Relocated remains included those of Mary Holyoke, daughter of

William Pynchon William Pynchon (October 11, 1590 – October 29, 1662) was an English colonist and fur trader in North America best known as the founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was also a colonial treasurer, original patentee of the Massach ...

, known as the founder of Springfield.

Chapel and columbarium

The Dorcas Chapin Chapel was constructed in 1885 with funds donated by the wife of Chester W. Chapin. Designed in the

English Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

style, the chapel contains stained glass windows created by the L.C. Tiffany Company and provides a seating capacity for fifty.

Soldier's Rest, Civil War monument

‘''Soldier’s Rest is a Civil War monument that was dedicated in 1877 and depicts a Union private at rest. The funds used to commission the monument were raised by women of the city who, in 1862, had developed the Soldier’s Rest Association to support the needs of soldiers, returning veterans and their families. The statue stands above the Soldiers plot, with graves both at its base and more below a descending slope. At least 200 Civil War soldiers are buried in the cemetery.

Notable burials

* George Ashmun, U.S. Congressman, member of the Massachusetts State Legislature, lawyer * James Barnes, Brigidier General, Union Army, Civil War *

Milton Bradley Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...

, businessman, considered a pioneer of the

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a ...

industry, founder of the

Milton Bradley Company Milton Bradley Company or simply Milton Bradley (MB) was an American board game manufacturer established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the l ...

* Andrew Symmes Bryant, Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor recipient * Thornton Waldo Burgess, conservationist, author, journalist * William Barron Calhoun, U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts * Calvin Clifford Chaffee, U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts, ardent slavery abolitionist * Chester W. Chapin, U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts, businessman * Thomas Dwight, U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts * Chester Harding, portrait painter of prominent 19th century Americans * Josiah Gilbert Holland, novelist, poet and newspaper editor *

Samuel Knox Samuel Knox (March 21, 1815 – March 7, 1905) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri. Born in Blandford, Massachusetts, Knox attended the common schools, graduated in 1836 from Williams College ( Williamstown, Massachusetts) and then earn ...

, U.S. Congressman from Missouri * F. O. Matthiessen, Harvard professor, literary critic, author of ’’American Renaissance: Art and Expression in the Age of Emerson and Whitman’’ * Horace A. Moses, industrialist and philanthropist, co-founder of

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learni ...

* Everett Peabody, Colonel, Union Army, Civil War * William Rice, Methodist Episcopal minister, Springfield City Librarian *

James Wolfe Ripley James Wolfe Ripley (December 10, 1794 – March 16, 1870) was an American soldier who served as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1861, he was selected to be the 5th Chief of Ordnance for the United States Army Ord ...

, Brigadier General, Union Army, Civil War * Charles Louis Seeger, Jr.,

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

, composer, university instructor, father of

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

Ruth Crawford Seeger Ruth Crawford Seeger (born Ruth Porter Crawford; July 3, 1901 – November 18, 1953) was an American composer and folk music specialist. Her music was a prominent exponent of the emerging modernist aesthetic and she became a central member of a ...

, singer, songwriter, political activist, stepmother of

* Horace Smith, inventor, industrialist *

Elizabeth Towne Elizabeth Jones Towne (May 11, 1865 – June 1, 1960) was an influential writer, editor, and publisher in the New Thought and self-help movements. Early life Elizabeth Jones was born in Oregon, the daughter of John Halsey Jones. She first marri ...

, writer, publisher *

Mark Trafton Mark Trafton (August 1, 1810 – March 8, 1901) was a Methodist Episcopal minister who, as a member of the American Party served one term as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Family history Trafton's mother Margaret Dennett, was the d ...

, U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts

Gallery

Civil War Soldier Monument, Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, MA - January 2016.JPG, Soldier’s Rest Civil War monument (1877) Cemetery Avenue Springfield Mass 1905.jpg, Cemetery Avenue approach to the gate (1905) Springfield Cemetery Entrance 1905.jpg, Cemetery gate (1905) Springfield Cemetery 1900-1906.jpg, Cemetery grounds (1900-1906) Springfield Cemetery Soldiers Plot 1900-1910.jpg, Soldiers plot & Soldier’s Rest monument Morgan Family Monument (Seated Maiden by Henri Chapu), Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, MA 01.jpg, Morgan family monument by Henri-Michel-Antoine Chapu (approx. 1877-1891) Josiah Gilbert Holland Monument (by Augustus Saint-Gaudens), Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, MA.jpg, Josiah Gilbert Holland monument by

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he tra ...

(1881) Fuller Family Monument (by Heinrich Waderé), Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, MA.jpg, Monument in memory of Winthrop and Elizabeth Bliss Fuller, sculpted by

Heinrich Waderé Heinrich Maria Waderé (2 July 1865 – 27 February 1950) was a German sculptor and medal engraver. Waderé was born in Colmar. After an apprenticeship in an engraving workshop he studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich under ...

(installed 1910)

Location

The main entrance to the Springfield Cemetery is located at 171 Maple Street, Springfield, MA 01150.

References

{{Authority control Cemeteries in Hampden County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Springfield, Massachusetts 1841 establishments in Massachusetts History of Springfield, Massachusetts Rural cemeteries