Dean Hill Cemetery in Fitchburg, Massachusetts

About

Get directions Caswell Road
Fitchburg, Massachusetts, USA

Coordinates: 42.61444, -71.84917
Cemetery ID:

Members have Contributed

About these numbers These percentages indicate the number of Find a Grave memorials that have a grave photo or GPS coordinates. We don't know the total number of burials in a cemetery, so we cannot calculate a percentage of those with memorials, photos or GPS coordinates.

Photos

See 4 more

1 open photo request.

This one-acre cemetery is located on Caswell Road, a dirt and gravel road at the top of Ashburnham Hill near the ca. 1777 Georgian Dean Hill Tavern (also known as Upton Tavern). The ancient burial ground, which is in a secluded location on a little-traveled road, has a moss-covered ground plane and is surrounded by a low dry-laid stone wall. The entrance is marked by tall triangular rough cut stones. Each has a shadow of a rectangular plaque with four holes of fasteners - part of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) marker program in 1903. The plaques were installed in memory of Revolutionary soldiers including the names of those known from Fitchburg. Vandalism in 1974 resulted in the loss of the tablets. Within the burial ground there are some clusters of tall pine trees amongst the scattered slate and marble grave markers. Stones documenting burials from 1791 to 1901 are in various states of disrepair with broken and leaning stones as well as many that have been damaged by spray painted graffiti or by excessive moss and fungus growth. Monument conservation and protection is the most pressing issue, as loose stones present hazards to visitors to the cemetery and are highly vulnerable to theft.