Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Why it's listed
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery occupies nearly 32 acres east of Concord's town center, along Bedford Street and Court Lane. It grew in four parts. The earliest, the New Burying Ground of 1823, follows an older pattern of rectangular grave blocks and alleys. Sleepy Hollow proper opened in 1855 and was designed by Horace W.S. Cleveland, with winding drives, stone steps, native plantings and a man-made pond, Cat's Pond, laid out by Henry David Thoreau. The former Middlesex Agricultural Society fairgrounds were added in 1869, followed by the Pines, bought in 1932. The grounds contain more than 1,500 markers in the oldest section alone, ranging from carved slate stones to marble and granite monuments, along with tombs, a Civil War memorial cannon and the 1909 Melvin Memorial sculpture. Authors' Ridge holds the family plots of Thoreau, Hawthorne, Alcott and Emerson. The only buildings are an 1849 former schoolhouse, now the cemetery office, and a small toolhouse.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the cemetery as an example of the shift from an eighteenth-century grid-like burying ground to the rural or garden cemetery. It was laid out by Horace W.S. Cleveland, with Henry David Thoreau laying out the pond, and it holds Authors' Ridge, where major American literary families are buried. It also contains notable grave markers, landscape features and the 1909 Melvin Memorial sculpture.
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 98000991, listed August 19, 1998. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 35A Bedford St. (formerly 24 Court Ln.), Concord |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | August 19, 1998 |
| Reference number | 98000991 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Horace W.S. Cleveland (designer of Sleepy Hollow); Henry David Thoreau (layout of Cat's Pond); Cyrus Pierce and other local masons (entrances) |
| Areas of significance | Art, Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Landscape Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | National, State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a cemetery; the 1849 schoolhouse serves as the Cemetery Office. |
| Acreage | 31.6 |
| Coordinates | 42.46370, -71.34315 (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 98000991.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q2972565
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.