Prospect Hill Cemetery
Also known as: Bare Hill Burying Ground; Old Churchyard Cemetery
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
Prospect Hill Cemetery in Millis, Massachusetts, is an 18.26-acre municipal burial ground that dates to about 1714, when the area was part of Medway. It is the town's only cemetery and is still in use. The Old Cemetery, about eight acres, includes the hilltop site of the first meetinghouse, hundreds of slate headstones with winged soul effigies, willow-and-urn carvings, marble obelisks, and mound tombs. Twenty slate stones are attributed to Joseph Barbur Jr. of West Medway. Later sections follow the 19th-century rural cemetery style, with terraced slopes, curving roads, and bowl-shaped burial areas. In 1932 Evan and Geneive Richardson donated farmland that became the New Cemetery, which includes a veterans section and a Hebrew section. Dry-laid boulder retaining walls built by the WPA in the 1930s remain throughout. The cemetery was listed because it documents the town's social history and nearly three centuries of burial design and monument styles.
Significance in brief: It is the only cemetery in Millis and has been in continuous use for nearly 300 years, with burials of many of the town's notable citizens. Its landscape and monuments span early 18th-century slate stones to modern granite, reflecting changing cemetery design and funerary art. It also holds 1930s WPA stone walls and works attributed to stonecarver Joseph Barbur Jr.
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 06000129, listed March 15, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Auburn Rd., Millis |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | March 15, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000129 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Architect / builder | Joseph Barbur Jr. (attributed stonecarver of 20 slate headstones); WPA (1930s retaining walls) |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Art, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Remains in active use as the town cemetery; stone walls are mostly in excellent condition. |
| Acreage | 183 |
| Coordinates | 42.16691, -71.36725 (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 06000129.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7250764
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.