Milton Cemetery
Why it's listed
Milton Cemetery covers about 102 acres of rolling land on Centre Street in Milton, Massachusetts. Burials began in 1672, and the grounds grew in three phases. The Old Burial Ground follows a straight, colonial-era pattern and holds roughly 600 gravestones, including slate markers attributed to early carvers such as William Mumford, plus granite tombs and the Whitcher family memorial. The New Cemetery, begun in 1854, was laid out with winding avenues in the 'rural' cemetery tradition by landscape architects including Copeland and Cleveland and Whitman and Breck. It contains a duck pond, a Gothic Revival receiving tomb of 1879, a soldiers' lot and a stone by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The Modern Cemetery was added from 1945. Buildings include a Queen Anne superintendent's house and stable from 1889 and a Colonial Revival cemetery building from 1929. Together they record changing burial customs and the town's growth from a farming community into a Boston suburb.
Significance in brief: The cemetery documents more than 330 years of burial practice, from a colonial linear burial ground to a 19th-century 'rural' cemetery designed by landscape architects and a modern section. Its gravestones show the evolution of carving styles and materials, including works attributed to known carvers, and its layout reflects Milton's growth from farming town to Boston suburb.
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 04000537, listed June 2, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 211 Centre St., Milton |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | June 2, 2004 |
| Reference number | 04000537 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Architect / builder | Landscape architects Copeland and Cleveland (1856), Whitman and Breck (1877), Ernest W. Bowditch (1898); receiving tomb built by O. T. Rogers and Company (1879) |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Queen Anne (superintendent's house); Mid 19th Century: Gothic Revival (receiving tomb); 20th Century Revival: Colonial Revival (cemetery building) |
| Areas of significance | Art, Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Landscape Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a cemetery; maintenance buildings continue to serve their historic uses. |
| Acreage | 102.1 |
| Within district | Milton Hill Historic District |
| Coordinates | 42.26139, -71.06063 (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 04000537.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6861028
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.