Walnut Hills Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Grove Street and Allandale Road in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

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

style. Many past prominent citizens of the town, including architect H. H. Richardson, are buried here. 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 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. The cluster of utility buildings, including a stable and shed, were designed by Guy Lowell (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 (1886–1947) – 51st lieutenant governor of Massachusetts and President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1929–1932 * Robert Bacon (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 Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

* Arthur Tracy Cabot (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 t ...

* 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

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James Elliot Cabot James Elliot Cabot (June 18, 1821 – January 16, 1903)Higginson, T. W.. 1904"James Elliot Cabot" ''Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences'' 39 (24). American Academy of Arts & Sciences: 649–55. was an American philosopher and ...

(1821–1903) – philosopher and author * John Moors Cabot (1901–1981) – diplomat and U.S. Ambassador * Samuel Cabot Jr. (1784–1863) – Boston businessman and merchant in the

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(1815–1885) – physician, surgeon, and

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* Otis Clapp, politician (Massachusetts state representative and member of the old Boston City Council), homeopath, pharmacist, publisher, bookseller, and U.S. Internal Revenue Bureau collector * Artie Clarke (1865–1949) –

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player for the

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* Jennie Collins (1828–1887) – labor reformer,

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on 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 emotiona ...

, 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 vo ...

* Elliott Carr Cutler (1888–1947) – surgeon, military physician, and medical educator * Albert Elijah Dunning (1844–1923) – Congregationalist

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

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 (1844–1901) – lawyer and editor who served as the first editor of ''The Green Bag'' * Sears Gallagher (1869–1955) – New England artist *

Norman Geschwind Norman Geschwind (January 8, 1926 – November 4, 1984) was a pioneering American behavioral neurologist, best known for his exploration of behavioral neurology through disconnection models based on lesion analysis. Early life Norman Geschwi ...

(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 a ...

* 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, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year ...

* Ernest Ludvig Ipsen (1869–1951) – painter specializing in portraiture * James T. Kelley (1855–1929) – architect and founding member of the Boston Architectural Club * Guy Lowell (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 manage ...

, 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 list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

and New York County Courthouse * Alexander Marble (1902–1992) – diabetologist, 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 Med ...

* Fred Newman (1942–1987) –

pitcher for the Los Angeles/California Angels *

John Charles Olmsted John Charles Olmsted (September 14, 1852 – February 24, 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 fath ...

(1852–1920) – landscape architect, nephew and adopted son of

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

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(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 wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, best known for her novels '' Stella Dallas'' (1923) and ''

Now, Voyager ''Now, Voyager'' is a 1942 American drama (film and television), 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 Oli ...

'' (1941) * H. H. Richardson (1838–1886) – architect known for his

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

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 ...

, Trinity Church, and Allegheny County Courthouse * Charles Hercules Rutan (1851–1914) – architect and partner of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge with works such as the

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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 I ...

in Boston *

Charles Sprague Sargent Charles Sprague Sargent (April 24, 1841March 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 published se ...

(1841–1927) –

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, founder and first leader of Boston's

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. * Julius A. 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 (1842–1913) – bookman, established the Boston Book Company and '' The Green Bag'' with Horace Williams Fuller * John Goddard Stearns Jr. (1843–1917) – architect and cofounder of Peabody & Stearns, notable works include Kragsyde,

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, and the Custom House Tower in Boston * Daniel Tyler Jr. (1899–1967) – Massachusetts political figure *

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

(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. Moder ...

player in the minor leagues, played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

* Herbert Langford Warren (1857–1917) – architect and founder of the School of Architecture at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

* Sherman L. Whipple (1862–1930) – attorney and one of Boston's leading trial lawyers * Eliza Orne White (1856–1947) – author * Edward Zambara (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 three ...

singer and music educator

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

Description and history

Notable burials

See also

References

External links