{"nrhp_refnum":"04001433","name":"Westlawn Cemetery","other_names":["West Burying Ground"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Concord Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Westford","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.57093048750005,"lon":-71.46642667278184,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-01-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Community Planning and Development","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Westlawn Cemetery, originally the West Burying Ground, is a 1.7-acre triangular town burial ground at the corner of Concord and Country Roads in Westford, Massachusetts, acquired by the town in 1761.","why_significant":"The cemetery holds about 400 burials, including many people important to Westford's history, such as Col. John Robinson, leader of the town's minutemen at Concord. Its slate, marble and granite markers show changes in gravestone carving and attitudes toward death from the Colonial period through the Victorian era. It also reflects how the town maintained its burial grounds over time.","narrative":"Westlawn Cemetery occupies a triangular 1.7-acre lot where Concord and Country Roads meet in Westford. The town acquired the land from local farmers in 1761 as the West Burying Ground, and the earliest marked burial dates to 1760. Roughly 400 people are interred here, among them mill owners, farmers, veterans and members of the Robinson, Prescott, Day and Fletcher families. Col. John Robinson, who led Westford's minutemen at the Battle of Concord, is buried here. The grounds contain slate, sandstone, granite and marble markers that trace the move from Puritan death's heads to urn and willow designs and later Gothic and Victorian forms. Three earthen or brick-walled family tombs line the southern edge, and an unusual stepping-stone marker stands near the west. Commemorative crosses and a 1968 plaque honor military service. The cemetery was renamed Westlawn in 1895 and has changed little since its Colonial beginnings, apart from routine repairs.","period_of_significance":"1760-1954","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a cemetery. Most stones are in good to excellent condition, with some erosion, breakage and mower damage, and repairs made regularly since the 19th century.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.641042-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/7960/63796095/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/04001433.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001433/87eecbc875-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001433/87eecbc875-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WestfordMA_WestlawnCemetery.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WestfordMA_WestlawnCemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796095","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westlawn_Cemetery_(Westford,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7989037"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/westlawn-cemetery-04001433/"}