{"nrhp_refnum":"89001549","name":"Grove Hill Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"290 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waltham","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.376003119000046,"lon":-71.22101621231569,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Grove Hill Cemetery is a municipal burial ground at 290 Main Street in Waltham, Massachusetts, on a hill east of Beaver Brook. It has about 3,500 stones, with burials dating from 1703 to 1985, on roughly 9 acres.","why_significant":"It is the oldest place of burial within Waltham's city limits and holds the graves of many leading 18th and 19th century families. It contains a wide range of gravestones and memorials, from simple early 18th century markers to Egyptian Revival obelisks and Victorian vaults. It is judged to retain integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.","narrative":"Grove Hill Cemetery, on Main Street in Waltham, is the city's oldest burial ground. Its first recorded graves date to November 1703, and land for it was purchased by the Middle Meetinghouse's Society in 1704. It began as about two to three acres and has grown to roughly nine, with about 3,500 stones dating from 1703 to 1985. Earlier called the Old Burying Ground, it was renamed Grove Hill in the late 19th century and was the only burial ground in the city until Mt. Feake was laid out in 1857. The grounds hold slate stones with winged skulls, late 18th century willow and iron motif stones, Egyptian Revival obelisks, Tuscan columns, and earthen vaults marked \"Town of Waltham.\" Rusticated granite entrance posts suggest Egyptian Revival design. The oldest stones lie in the northwest corner, near an unmarked area of black interments. The cemetery was listed for its association with Waltham's leading families and its range of gravestone craftsmanship.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Egyptian Revival (entrance posts and obelisks); Victorian vaults","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as well landscaped and well maintained, with stones in generally good condition.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.656707-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/48/7915/63791548/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001549.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001549/8c720f6a49-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001549/8c720f6a49-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waltham_MA_Grove_Hill_Cemetery.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:Waltham_MA_Grove_Hill_Cemetery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791548","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grove_Hill_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715499"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/grove-hill-cemetery-89001549/"}