{"nrhp_refnum":"81000115","name":"Salem Street Burying Ground","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Medford Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Medford","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.35521640500008,"lon":-71.10550513699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-08-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-quarter-acre colonial burying ground between Salem Street and Riverside Avenue at the edge of Medford Square, Medford, Massachusetts, established in the mid-seventeenth century on the estate of Major Jonathan Wade and now owned by the city.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the ground holds the graves of all of Medford's founding families and figures such as Governor John Brooks and Sarah Bradlee Fulton. Its 425 surviving stones form a historical, genealogical and educational record. The stones also document New England funerary art from 1683 to 1880, and over 50 enslaved people lie in unmarked graves.","narrative":"Salem Street Burying Ground occupies about three-quarters of an acre between Salem Street and Riverside Avenue on the edge of Medford Square. It began in the mid-seventeenth century as a family burying place on Major Jonathan Wade's estate, in a sloping pasture overlooking the Mystic River, and the town acquired it in the early eighteenth century. Between 1717 and 1848 the original quarter-acre plot grew to its present size. A brick wall in Flemish bond with granite coping encloses it, and a formal path system, entrance gate and a monument to Governor John Brooks were added later. More than 600 people were buried here until about 1881, including members of the Hall, Tufts, Wade, Bradshaw, Brooks, Francis, Whitmore and Willis families. Some 425 stones survive, dating from 1683 to 1880, showing the shift from death's heads to cherubs, willows and neoclassical motifs. Over 50 enslaved people lie in unmarked graves. The site was listed for its historical associations and its record of funerary art.","period_of_significance":"1660-1880","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair and unaltered, on its original site; most slate stones are in fair condition. Status is marked unoccupied, with present use as park and religious.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.46178-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/5/7961/63796105/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/81000115.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000115/3626a46ba0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000115/3626a46ba0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MedfordMA_SalemStreetBuryingGroundMarker.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:MedfordMA_SalemStreetBuryingGroundMarker.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796105","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_Street_Burying_Ground","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7404188"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/salem-street-burying-ground-81000115/"}