South Burying Ground facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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South Burying Ground
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Winchester Street, Newton Highlands, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 1.37 acres (0.55 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 04001256 |
| Added to NRHP | December 27, 2004 |
The South Burying Ground, also known as Winchester Street Cemetery or Evergreen Cemetery, is a historic cemetery. You can find it on Winchester Street in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, a village within the city of Newton, Massachusetts. This cemetery was started in 1802 and was the third one in Newton. It holds 357 recorded burials, with the earliest from 1803 and the latest from 1938. In 2004, the cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which lists important historical sites.
Exploring the South Burying Ground
The South Burying Ground covers about 1.37 acres (0.55 ha) of land. It is shaped like a rectangle and sits on the west side of Winchester Street. This is just a short distance south of Massachusetts Route 9 in Newton Highlands.
What Does It Look Like?
The cemetery has two small hills, called knolls, near its main entrance. A stone wall, likely built in the 1800s, lines the front and parts of the sides of the cemetery. A chain-link fence sits on top of this wall and goes all the way around the property. The main entrance has a chain-link gate that keeps it secure. Inside, there are no paved paths today, but old maps from the early 1900s show that there used to be a grid of paths.
A Look at Its History
Local citizens started the South Burying Ground in 1802. It was special because it was the first cemetery in the area that was not connected to a church. There are 357 people buried here. Among them are eleven brave soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War and two who fought in the American Civil War.
Later, the cemetery was given to the city of Newton, which still owns and takes care of it today. The cemetery was used less often after a larger cemetery, Newton Cemetery, opened in 1855. The very last person was buried here in 1938. The South Burying Ground is usually locked and not open for people to visit.
