{"nrhp_refnum":"09000471","name":"Ireland Street Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Ireland St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chesterfield","county":"Hampshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.36511925100007,"lon":-72.88409401599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-07-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Community Planning and Development","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-acre rural burial ground on a ridge along Ireland Street in Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, enclosed by dry-laid fieldstone walls, with gravestones dating from 1772 to 1996.","why_significant":"The cemetery holds about 185 intact markers that show changes in gravestone carving from the 18th to the 20th century. Several stones are attributed to itinerant carvers, notably Joseph and Elijah Sikes, and others to Elijah Phelps and local carvers. It also records the burials of many of Chesterfield's early settler families, including Baptist and Revolutionary War-era residents.","narrative":"Ireland Street Cemetery occupies a raised one-acre plot on a high ridge in Chesterfield, Massachusetts, surrounded by orchards and farmland. Dry-laid fieldstone walls enclose it, and the east side has a granite-capped retaining wall with small iron urn ornaments and a wrought-iron gate. About 185 intact stones and footstones stand in seven north-south rows, all facing east, with dates from 1772 to 1996. The markers trace changing styles, from 18th-century tabernacle-shaped schist stones with soul effigies, through willow-and-urn designs and plain marble slabs, to later obelisks and Celtic crosses. Several early stones are attributed to the itinerant carvers Joseph and Elijah Sikes, and others to Elijah Phelps and an unidentified local amateur. The cemetery also holds the graves of early families who settled on Ireland Street from the 1760s, including the Halbert, Cowing, Sylvester and Cole families, along with Baptist congregation members and Revolutionary War participants.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Gravestone carvers attributed include Joseph Sikes, Elijah Sikes and Elijah Phelps","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Still used as a cemetery; walls are in fairly good condition, with one toppled area at the northeast corner, and the ground is well kept.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.751651-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/7954/63795479/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/09000471.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000471/653c1f436e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000471/653c1f436e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ChesterfieldMA_IrelandStreetCemetery.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:ChesterfieldMA_IrelandStreetCemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795479","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland_Street_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16892716"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampshire-county/ireland-street-cemetery-09000471/"}