Old Burial Ground, Lynnfield, Massachusetts

Old Burial Ground, Lynnfield, Massachusetts

Also known as Lynnfield Centre Cemetery, this burial ground has Revolutionary War veterans amongst those interred. The location is picturesque, cornered between the town center, a stone's throw from an old meeting house, shadowed by towering white pines, and on the edge of wetlands, this site is quintessential rural New England. As a visitor you can't help but look at it and imagine how settlers in the recent past laid down their roots in a raw, wild environment. The challenges they must have faced, and yet they strived to create these dignified monuments to their forbearers surrounded by the rugged lands they hoped to tame. Today, just over a couple centuries later, the frenetic energy of greater Boston envelops it while allowing this town to maintain its quaint, traditional beauty.


Somewhat surprisingly, there isn't a lot written about this location, at least not something easily searchable on the internet. The leads were a few degrees of separation away. When I wrote about West Burying Ground previously, a resident mentioned to me Daniel Townsend who is buried in "Old Burial Ground." While I hadn't any knowledge of this historic figure at the time of my visit, and I didn't know to look for the grave at the time, I thought I'd take some time to include some details about this Revolutionary War figure here. Local paper, The Lynnfield Patch, had an informative write up by William Laforme in April of 2012. Of note, Townsend was one of fifty soldiers killed in the Battle of Menotomy, or a British retreat from Concord, on the first day of the American Revolution. 


I thought this design with the cherub/angel with a trumpet, and the banner, which I assume said something at one point, was unusual at least amongst the headstones in this 18th century cemetery. Upon searching this, what came up was a lot of links to images, however I did find this WordPress blog, which notes that angel is heralding the resurrection, as it relates to judgement day. Interestingly it notes that this did not become popular till the 19th century, so it is likely that this was somewhat ahead of its time. 





Love the detail on this headstone, especially contrasted with the unfinished base





Text and photographs by George Parks
Sources are embedded in links


Comments

  1. UnknownApril 28, 2021 at 7:32 PM

    Love this! I have been researching some family history in the area and really enjoyed your writeup on the cemetery. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. George N. ParksJune 19, 2021 at 11:50 PM

      Thank you. Very cool if they are buried in a place like this, exciting ancestry!

      Delete
    2. George N. ParksJune 19, 2021 at 11:50 PM

      Thank you. Very cool if they are buried in a place like this, exciting ancestry!

      Delete

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