{"nrhp_refnum":"84002320","name":"Daddy Frye's Hill Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"East and Arlington Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Methuen","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.72547071500003,"lon":-71.16562877699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2.4-acre town-owned burial ground at the corner of East and Brook (Arlington) Streets in Methuen, Massachusetts, laid out after a 1728 town vote beside the first Congregational meetinghouse. It holds about 250 stones.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the major surviving feature of Methuen's early town center. It is also tied to the Searles family through the late 19th-century tomb and granite wall built by Edward F. Searles. It is said to retain integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship.","narrative":"Daddy Frye's Hill Cemetery occupies 2.4 acres at East and Brook Streets in Methuen, Massachusetts. The town voted in 1728 to lay out the burial ground beside its newly established Congregational meetinghouse, in what was then the original town center. The area later took the name Daddy Frye's Hill from Jeremiah Frye, who ran a nearby tavern. The site is gently rolling, grassed and dotted with mature conifers. About 250 slate and marble stones, all facing west, carry typical 18th and 19th century motifs such as winged death's heads, cherubs, urns and willows. The earliest death date is 1728. In the late 19th century, Methuen millionaire Edward F. Searles built a chapel-like tomb as a memorial to his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Artemas W. Stearns, and enclosed most of the cemetery with a high granite wall. It was listed as the major surviving feature of Methuen's early town center and for its Searles associations. The cemetery remains in generally good condition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Edward F. Searles (tomb and granite wall, late 19th century)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Generally good condition, with few broken or overturned stones; owned by the Town of Methuen.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.48066-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/2/7902/63790202/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002320.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002320/510b68b4bb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002320/510b68b4bb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"EraserGirl","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daddy_Frye%27s_Hill_Cemetery.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">EraserGirl</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daddy_Frye%27s_Hill_Cemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790202","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daddy_Frye%27s_Hill_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5208012"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/daddy-fryes-hill-cemetery-84002320/"}