Pine Grove Cemetery, the oldest of the three cemeteries owned and maintained by the Town of Topsfield, is located on Haverhill Road (MA Rte. 97). The cemetery is first mentioned in town records in 1706. The date of the first interment is unknown. "Rude pasture stones" in the southern end of the cemetery mark the early graves (Dow, p. 431). The oldest legible gravestone was erected in memory of Sergeant Ebenezer Averill who died December 22, 1717. Other notable graves include that of Reverend Joseph Capen and wife Priscilla, and a memorial to the Smith family.
Circling the cemetery is the Bare Hill Nature Trail (about a 1 mile loop), a project led by Eagle Scout Byron Johnson and Parks & Cemetery Superintendent Steve Shepard. A self-guided map with points of interest can be downloaded here.
Plot listings for the cemetery are available at the library in the Reference area.
References
Bromell, N. (1989). The lives of the dead. New England Monthly, March 1989. p. 42 - 47.
(This article may be found in the Topsfield Town Library vertical file, located in the Reference Department.)
Dow, G.F. (1940). Cemeteries and Burying-Grounds. In G.F. Dow, History of Topsfield, Massachusetts (430-436). Topsfield, Mass. : Topsfield Historical Society.
Further Reading
Dow, G.F. (1940). History of Topsfield, Massachusetts. Topsfield, Mass. : Topsfield Historical Society.
View Library Catalog record; read online at the Internet Archive
Topsfield Historical Society. (1901). Pine Grove Cemetery Inscriptions, 1717-1849, copied by George Francis Dow. The Historical Collections of the Topsfield Historical Society, vol.VII, p. 1-32. Topsfield, Mass. : The Topsfield Historical Society.
External Links
Pine Grove Cemetery. Short article hosted on the website of the Salem Witch Museum. Accessed 6/22/2021.
Pine Grove (Topsfield) Cemetery - Essex County, Massachusetts. (2012). Massachusetts Gravestone Photo Project.
Bare Hill. Essex County Trail Association.
Contents
Topsfield Times: A Community and Local History Resource
WKT
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.