Whose is the earliest grave marker in Harvard’s old burying ground? How many tombs are there? Why is one headstone set noticeably far apart from all others? These questions and more will be answered on Saturday, May 22, between noon and 3 p.m., when the Harvard Historical Society participates in the Freedom’s Way Hidden Treasures program. The event is a celebration of the natural, cultural, and historical treasures located within Freedom’s Way’s National Heritage Area of 45 communities. The free events and activities are community organized and presented and are scheduled and supported by Freedom’s Way.
This year, Harvard’s treasure hidden in plain sight is the Center Cemetery. A tour, created largely by Doug Cregar, president of the Harvard Historical Society, highlights several structures in the cemetery and the graves of important townspeople buried there. A map will help visitors locate the points of interest, and a brochure with text and pictures gives the history of the cemetery and tells stories of some of the people who contributed so much to Harvard.
The self-guided, in-person tour of the center cemetery will begin at the Still River Road entrance, next to the General Store patio, where participants will pick up a map and brochure. Visitors are asked to observe social distancing. The tour will also be online at the society’s website, harvardhistory.org, starting May 21, and it will remain accessible at any time.
When Harvard was incorporated in 1732, one of the residents’ first decisions was to set aside 4 acres of common land in the center of town south of the meetinghouse for a burying ground. This cemetery remained in use until 1892. A large proportion of early graves were unmarked.
Visitors will see one of the earliest stone memorials, that of an infant who died in 1735. The marker is made of blue slate quarried at Harvard’s Pin Hill. Surrounding towns probably used this slate as well, and the quarrying and carving of slate became one of Harvard’s first industries. The early gravestones had only a simple lined border, and the inscriptions were in capital letters of plainest print. Occasionally there was a death’s-head in low relief. The marker of Simon Stone, one of the town’s founding fathers, is another of these early stones on the tour.
After the mid-1700s, stones were larger; the death’s-head was replaced by a winged cherub; and the lettering was more elaborate. The epitaphs were still simple, except in the cases of early ministers, whose virtues were enumerated, illustrating the special esteem in which ministers were held. The grave of Harvard’s second minister, Daniel Johnson, is recognizable because it is a heavy table of slate resting horizontally on supports of brick and stone. Nearby, the grave of Peter Atherton, Harvard’s first clerk, is also a raised table and, most unusually, his wife, Experience, is buried there too. An inscription speaks poignantly of their bond with each other.
In the last quarter of the 18th century, the cherub was still popular, but a draped urn was beginning to be used. Epitaphs became more elaborate, often quoting scriptures or poetry, and praising the piety of the deceased.
After 1800, a weeping willow was a popular image of grieving, and Harvard stonecutter Isaac Newton Stone was recognized for using it in his work. Wording on inscriptions became more straightforward, often beginning with “In memory of.” By the mid 1800s, new lots had granite obelisks or elaborate marble monuments. The grave of philanthropist Margaret Bromfield Blanchard, at the southern end of the cemetery, is one of the former. These newer grave markers were in stark contrast to the first low memorials of native slate and simple design.
Other stops on the tour are the hearse house, public tomb, and Founders Memorial. The memorial stone, from Pin Hill, commemorates the 200 or so early settlers who came to Harvard, lived here, and were buried in unmarked graves. The plaque pays tribute to how the settlers “left their homes and families in search of new freedoms, a new way of life,” and they “pressed on, enduring all, to realize their dream, a town called ‘Harvard.’”
As with all old cemeteries, Harvard’s burying ground reveals not only individual lives but also the early life of the town, reflecting such things as Harvard’s involvement in wars, its attitude toward enslaved people, and the ravages of epidemics and infant mortality. The different styles in gravestones reflect evolving aesthetic taste and a changing attitude toward death.
For information on Hidden Treasures events in other towns throughout the month, go to freedomsway.org.
