Mount Vernon Cemetery
Also known as: Old Burying Ground; Beaman Cemetery
Why it's listed
Mount Vernon Cemetery occupies 16.73 acres in the center of West Boylston, Massachusetts, beside the Town Common and Church Street. It brings together three adjoining burial grounds: the Beaman Cemetery, dating to about 1757 and relocated in 1904 to make way for the Wachusett Reservoir; the Old Burying Ground, from about 1790; and the Mount Vernon Cemetery, established in 1852. About 2,700 gravestones and monuments range from early slate markers to granite and marble memorials, including a rare slate obelisk, a triangular marble monument and a zinc "white bronze" marker. Each section reflects a different era of cemetery design, from Colonial grassy paths to Victorian family plots around a hollow and a modern grid of roads added in 1951. The 1891 Holbrook Chapel, built of fieldstone with a slate roof, marks the main entrance. The cemetery became fully municipal in 1931 and holds early settlers, the town's first minister, industrialists and veterans of conflicts from the Revolutionary War onward.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the cemetery as a record of West Boylston's settlement and community, from early settlers and the first minister to industrialists, veterans and ordinary residents. It also cites the range of landscape designs from Colonial to Victorian to modern, the gravestone carving, and the 1891 Holbrook Chapel. The relocated Beaman Cemetery is described as a thoughtfully moved cemetery.
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 08000465, listed May 29, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Church St., West Boylston |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | May 29, 2008 |
| Reference number | 08000465 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Architectural style | Victorian Eclectic (Holbrook Chapel) |
| Areas of significance | Art, Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Two areas, the Old Burying Ground and Mount Vernon Cemetery, are in active use for burials; the Beaman section is not described as taking new burials. |
| Acreage | 16.7 |
| Coordinates | 42.36371, -71.77987 (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 08000465.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17026667
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.