{"nrhp_refnum":"89000658","name":"Wildwood Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"34 Palmer St. (formerly Wildwood St.)","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winchester","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.45518594550006,"lon":-71.14615868609891,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-07-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Wildwood Cemetery is a 70.5-acre rural garden cemetery at Palmer and Wildwood Streets in Winchester, Massachusetts, on the western side of Wedge Pond. It was laid out in 1852-1853 to a design by Amasa Farrier.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a notable example of a small mid-nineteenth century rural garden cemetery, modeled on Mount Auburn Cemetery. Its winding footpaths and carriage roads follow the rolling terrain and reflect picturesque landscape ideals. It was also the earliest planned public space in the newly incorporated town of Winchester.","narrative":"Wildwood Cemetery is a 70.5-acre burial ground on a rolling, suburban hillside beside Wedge Pond in Winchester, Massachusetts. It grew out of the town's incorporation in 1850, when a bequest from Colonel William Winchester funded land purchase after the old churchyard ran out of room. Amasa Farrier, the Stoneham town surveyor, designed the layout, drawing on the ideas of John Claudius Loudon and Andrew Jackson Downing. Winding footpaths and carriage roads follow the contours of the land, and the grounds have shade trees and lawns in the manner of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. The cemetery was consecrated in September 1852, and bodies from the old church graveyard were moved there in 1853. Olmsted & Associates designed a landscaped entrance in 1937. About 5,000 stones record burials from 1805 to 1988, including early local families and prominent figures. It was recognized as a fine example of garden cemetery design and as the town's first planned public space.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Amasa Farrier (designer, Stoneham town surveyor); entrance gateway by Olmsted & Associates of Boston, 1937","architectural_style":"Rural garden cemetery","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition described as excellent.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.679937-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/75/7922/63792275/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000658.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000658/606e30ae66-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000658/606e30ae66-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WinchesterMA_WildwoodCemetery.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:WinchesterMA_WildwoodCemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792275","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildwood_Cemetery_(Winchester,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8001561"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/wildwood-cemetery-89000658/"}