{"nrhp_refnum":"07000547","name":"Shawsheen Cemetery","other_names":["Shawshine Cemetery"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Great Rd. and Shawsheen Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bedford","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.48527045050005,"lon":-71.25685852913239,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-06-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Community Planning and Development","Landscape Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 44.18-acre town-owned cemetery on Great Road and Shawsheen Road in Bedford, Massachusetts, established in 1849 and laid out in the rural cemetery style; the listing covers the 16.87-acre historic western portion.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criteria A and C at the local level, plus consideration D for cemeteries. It is Bedford's primary secular burial ground, with a rural-cemetery layout and a range of 19th and early 20th century monuments. It holds the graves of manufacturers, physicians, entrepreneurs, civic leaders and war veterans who shaped the town.","narrative":"Shawsheen Cemetery is a town-owned burial ground in eastern Bedford, Massachusetts, opened in 1849 as a large, modern replacement for the Old Burying Ground of 1729. The listed portion covers about 17 acres of the 44-acre site: the original 10-acre section laid out in the rural cemetery style, plus four small later additions. Roads radiate from a central circle, family plots line the avenues, and mature maples and pines shape the setting. Markers range from slate tablets relocated from the old ground to marble, zinc and granite monuments, box tombs, a receiving tomb, the 1874 Soldiers' Memorial and the 1906-1907 Memorial Gates. Burials include shoe manufacturers, physicians such as William Richardson Hayden, entrepreneurs, civic officers and veterans from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War. Citizens' Lots hold unknown or poor individuals. The cemetery remains in use and is well kept, and it was listed for its local historical and design importance.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Rural cemetery style landscape (Architectural Classification listed as N/A)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still an active burial ground in both old and new sections, well maintained by the town's Department of Public Works; monuments are largely upright with little breakage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.56026-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/3/7961/63796103/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/07000547.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000547/de12d71bfa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000547/de12d71bfa-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shawsheen_Cemetery,_October_2013,_Bedford_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:Shawsheen_Cemetery,_October_2013,_Bedford_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796103","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawsheen_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7491589"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/shawsheen-cemetery-07000547/"}