East Parish Burying Ground
Also known as: Centre Street Cemetery
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
East Parish Burying Ground covers about three acres at Centre and Cotton Streets in Newton Centre. Land was given in 1660 for a burying place and meeting house for Cambridge residents living south of the Charles River. The cemetery grew in 1701, 1803 and 1834, giving it an irregular outline. It was Newton's only burial ground until 1781, so nearly every early family has at least one member interred there, including the first Town Clerk, the first schoolteacher and the first minister, John Eliot Jr. Other burials include Captain Thomas Prentice and Generals Michael Jackson and William Hull. About 340 slate markers remain in the 1660 and 1701 sections and 75 in the 1834 addition, which is laid out in a grid of family plots. The stones show death's heads, winged cherubs, portrait stones and urn-and-willow designs, with work by carvers such as William Mumford and Daniel Hastings. Because the other town facilities moved in the 1720s, the burying ground is the sole remaining trace of the settlement's beginnings.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is the only surviving physical link to the 17th-century origins of Newton and its early families. It also holds an excellent record of New England gravestone carving from the 17th through 19th centuries, including work by several notable stonecutters. The form says it meets criteria A, B and C.
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 83004010, listed November 23, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Centre and Cotton Sts., Newton |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | November 23, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83004010 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Period of significance | 1660-mid 1800's |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Art, Exploration/Settlement |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as deteriorated but unaltered and on its original site; the original drive and walkways are overgrown and barely discernible. The form marks the site as unoccupied and used as a cemetery. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 42.34008, -71.19051 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
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 83004010.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5329105
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.