{"nrhp_refnum":"99000561","name":"Cove Burying Ground","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Jct. of MA 6 and Pine Woods Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Eastham","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.811334584000065,"lon":-69.97087384499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-05-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Social History","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-acre colonial burying ground on State Highway (Route) 6 in Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, laid out next to the first Congregational meeting house around 1646 and used until 1770.","why_significant":"It is the main landmark surviving from Eastham's original mid-17th century settlement, and many early settlers are buried there. Its 37 surviving original headstones, dated 1706-1770, show a range of Colonial gravestone carving, including work attributed to Boston carvers. Later markers also commemorate founders and Mayflower passengers.","narrative":"Cove Burying Ground is a roughly one-acre cemetery on Route 6 in Eastham, Cape Cod. It was laid out around 1646 beside the town's first meeting house, near Town Cove, and was used until 1770. It is the main landmark left from the original Nauset settlement. About 50 graves are known, including 37 with original headstones dated 1706 to 1770. Most stones are slate, with a few of sandstone and phyllite. Carved winged skulls, cherubs and foliate borders illustrate Colonial gravestone art, and some stones are attributed to Boston carvers such as Nathaniel Emmes. Family names such as Doane, Freeman, Knowles, Mulford and Sparrow recur. Later boulder and plaque markers honor early settlers and Mayflower passengers, including Constance Hopkins Snow and Giles Hopkins. The Rev. Samuel Treat, the first ordained minister of the church, is also buried here. A granite post and iron rail fence encloses the ground on three sides.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as surviving in reasonably good condition, with care from descendants, though many stones show erosion and splitting. Surveys were made in 1876, 1904-05, 1975-76 and 1997, and repairs began in 1975.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:05.244785-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/90/7940/63794090/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/99000561.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000561/2f9cf7396c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000561/2f9cf7396c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerry Johnson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cove_Burying_Ground.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerry Johnson</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:Cove_Burying_Ground.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794090","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cove_Burying_Ground","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5178919"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/cove-burying-ground-99000561/"}