{"nrhp_refnum":"00000567","name":"East Main Street Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dalton","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.47340139250005,"lon":-73.15102075739321,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-06-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Landscape Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-acre burial ground on East Main Street (Route 8) in Dalton, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, established by the Chamberlin family for relatives and neighbors, with about 255 visible markers dating from 1781 to 1895.","why_significant":"The cemetery is a typical example of a small eighteenth-century family or neighborhood burial ground, laid out in simple rows rather than by landscape design. Its marble markers show changing gravestone carving motifs and record the families and hardships of early Dalton. The form also cites high archaeological potential for historic resources and possible unmarked graves.","narrative":"East Main Street Cemetery is a two-acre graveyard on the north side of East Main Street (Route 8) in Dalton, Massachusetts. The Chamberlin family set it aside for burying relatives and neighbors, and about one-fifth of the stones honor family members. Roughly 255 markers or fragments remain, dated 1781 to 1895, set in twenty-four irregular rows. Most are pale gray marble tablets, some carved with winged soul-effigies, urns and willows, draperies, or open books. Five larger monuments include two pedestal memorials flanking the central gate. The grounds have no formal paths, only grassy aisles, and burials ended in the 1890s. Neglect and vandalism led to repairs and new fencing in 1892, 1930, 1962 and 1985, and to resetting of stones in the 1970s. The plot reflects early settlement practice, shows changing attitudes toward death in its carving, and records family losses, especially among children. It is also considered likely to hold archaeological evidence of unmarked graves and earlier boundary walls and fences.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as well maintained today, though vandalism, weather, settling and breakage have damaged many stones; no new burials since the 1890s.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:05.121256-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/50/7943/63794350/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/00000567.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000567/640986bcaa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000567/640986bcaa-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DaltonMA_EastMainStreetCemetery.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DaltonMA_EastMainStreetCemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794350","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Main_Street_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5328915"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/east-main-street-cemetery-00000567/"}