{"nrhp_refnum":"10000040","name":"First Parish Burial Ground","other_names":["Bridge Street Cemetery","Old Bridge Street Cemetery","First","Parish Burial Yard","Bridge Street Burial Yard"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"122-R Centennial Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gloucester","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.617367278000074,"lon":-70.67429035999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-02-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Exploration/Settlement","Landscape Architecture","Maritime History","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2.5-acre historic burial ground at 122-R Centennial Avenue in Gloucester, Massachusetts, established in 1644 and owned by the City of Gloucester. It holds about 650 markers, a perimeter stone wall and a granite entrance gate.","why_significant":"It is Gloucester's oldest cemetery and was the only burial place for the original settlement for nearly 80 years. It is significant for its association with the early settlement and maritime history of Gloucester (Criterion A). Its gravestones also show the work of local carvers and changing memorial art from the 1700s through the 1800s (Criterion C).","narrative":"Established in 1644 near Gloucester Harbor and the Annisquam River, this 2.5-acre burial ground is the oldest cemetery in Gloucester. It served as the only burial place for the original settlement for nearly 80 years. Roughly hexagonal, it is bounded largely by dry-laid stone walls and entered through a granite wall and wrought-iron gate on Centennial Avenue. About 650 markers are reported. Early slate, schist and sandstone tablets carry winged skulls, cherubs, and willow-and-urn designs, some tied to carvers such as John Homer and the Lamson shop, while later marble stones show Victorian imagery. The grounds also include family plots and tombs, among them those of Rev. John White and Captain Edward Gibaut. Burials slowed after 1830, and the last took place in 1925. Decades of neglect, vegetation growth and vandalism have damaged the site, yet it keeps its location, setting and association with Gloucester's founding families, and it also holds potential for archaeological discovery.","period_of_significance":"1644-1925","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Seriously deteriorated: overgrown with vegetation, vandalized, with broken, fallen and displaced stones and a poorly kept perimeter wall.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.791363-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/7950/63795008/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/10000040.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000040/61fd04b0f2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000040/61fd04b0f2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GloucesterMA_FirstParishBurialGround_18thCenturyGravestone.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:GloucesterMA_FirstParishBurialGround_18thCenturyGravestone.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795008","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Parish_Burial_Ground","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16836964"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/first-parish-burial-ground-10000040/"}