Oak Grove Cemetery
Why it's listed
Oak Grove Cemetery covers about 15 acres in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Boston landscape gardeners Copeland and Cleveland laid it out in 1854 as a romantic park, with winding avenues and paths named for plants, and it was consecrated in June 1855. Later additions toward Washington and Grove Streets kept the original curving plan. Granite gate piers survive on Washington Street, and a Romanesque granite memorial to businessman George R. Bradford, built in 1903-1904, marks the likely site of a planned chapel. The cemetery is believed to be the first joint work of Robert Morris Copeland and Horace W. S. Cleveland, two early American landscape architects. It also represents the nineteenth-century move away from crowded churchyards toward landscaped burial grounds. Buried here are painters Fitz Hugh Lane and John Henry Twachtman, opera singer Emma Abbott, sea captains, local benefactors and baseball player Ralph Perkins. Vandalism and neglect have damaged monuments and plantings.
Significance in brief: It is believed to be the first joint design by pioneer American landscape architects Robert Morris Copeland and Horace William Shaler Cleveland. It is also a small but representative example of the romantic landscaped cemetery movement. It is the burial place of notable people, including painters Fitz Hugh Lane and John Henry Twachtman and opera singer Emma Abbott.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 75000263, listed April 3, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Bounded by Derby, Washington, and Grove Sts., and Maplewood Ave., Gloucester |
|---|---|
| County | Essex County |
| Listed | April 3, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75000263 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1854 |
| Architect / builder | Copeland and Cleveland (Robert Morris Copeland and Horace William Shaler Cleveland); Bradford Memorial designed by Ezra L. Phillips and built by Pigeon Hill Granite Company of Rockport |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Landscape Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Deteriorated: many monuments have been vandalized, all suffer from neglect, and the plantings have not been maintained for years; restoration is hoped for when funding is found. |
| Acreage | 15 |
| Coordinates | 42.62034, -70.66977 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 75000263.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7073500
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.