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Old Hill Burying Ground, Concord MA
2008.05.17
"The Boston, MA area was the hub of American gravestone carving activity, from approximately 1660 – 1800. Luckily there was a supply of very high quality slate to carve into stones. Many still survive and are most often a gray color."
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"The Boston, MA area was the hub of American gravestone carving activity, from approximately 1660 – 1800. Luckily there was a supply of very high quality slate to carve into stones. Many still survive and are most often a gray color."
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"Many people do not realize that the early or "colonial" era gravestones of the United States are in fact much larger that what you see above ground. Because of the thickness of these early gravestones half of the length will be found below ground level. This was not only done to ensure that the gravestone would remain straight and sturdy, but for other reasons such as the frost over many northern winters would push the gravestone up. A gravestone with a shorter base would over time be prone to falling over. The use of the long base would prevent this."
Click here to add text
"Many people do not realize that the early or "colonial" era gravestones of the United States are in fact much larger that what you see above ground. Because of the thickness of these early gravestones half of the length will be found below ground level. This was not only done to ensure that the gravestone would remain straight and sturdy, but for other reasons such as the frost over many northern winters would push the gravestone up. A gravestone with a shorter base would over time be prone to falling over. The use of the long base would prevent this."
2
"Early New England gravestones often paired references to death with images of redemption and afterlife—wings to suggest transcendence, fruit and flowers to symbolize rebirth, and the sun and moon to indicate the perpetual rhythm of life and death."
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"Early New England gravestones often paired references to death with images of redemption and afterlife—wings to suggest transcendence, fruit and flowers to symbolize rebirth, and the sun and moon to indicate the perpetual rhythm of life and death."
3
"Gravestones were in the public sphere and therefore were public art. They were one of two types of public art accepted in colonial New England. Sign boards for businesses being the other. Burying grounds were beside meeting houses and constantly in the presence of everyone attending service. Stone grave markers (gravestones) stood out from wooden markers. Gravestones were an indication of a family’s wealth and social status. In essence, gravestones from the earliest stones onward were status symbols."
Click here to add text
"Gravestones were in the public sphere and therefore were public art. They were one of two types of public art accepted in colonial New England. Sign boards for businesses being the other. Burying grounds were beside meeting houses and constantly in the presence of everyone attending service. Stone grave markers (gravestones) stood out from wooden markers. Gravestones were an indication of a family’s wealth and social status. In essence, gravestones from the earliest stones onward were status symbols."
4
"Very seldom did these early carvers sign their work."
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"Very seldom did these early carvers sign their work."
5
"On the hillside overlooking Concord’s Monument Square is the oldest of Concord's three cemeteries, the Old Hill Burying Ground. With nearly 500 graves, the earliest existing stone is dated 1677. Old Hill was the original burying ground for Concord residents after securing their settlement in 1635. The entrance is from Monument Square through the gate between St. Bernard’s Church and the "brick-end" house. This site, on a prominent glacial esker, was adjacent to the original location of the First Parish Church. It was on land that could not be farmed, and because of its height, it was the first area to thaw in the spring. This thawing allowed for early burial of those who died during the winter and waited silently for a place in the warm earth.
Of interest, is the grave of Major John Buttrick who led the fight at the North Bridge and died 16 years later, on May 16, 1791. His son, buried in the same family plot, was at the bridge as a fifer. Old Hill also contains the graves of 40 other veterans of the Revolution. It is said that Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, British commanders on that lively day in April, 1775, chose the Old Hill site as their command post, and from there witnessed what would be the beginning of the end of British rule."
from "Town of Concord and its Historic Cemeteries" brochure
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Comments
Being a genealogist and a transcriber of cemeteries, I found this very, very interesting. The stones look in such good condition for being so old.
