Cedar Grove Cemetery
Why it's listed
Cedar Grove Cemetery occupies a steep, oval-shaped site at the south end of Washington Street in Chaumont, overlooking Sawmill Bay and Chaumont Bay. Hiram Copley, a business and civic leader and later the village's first mayor, established it in 1873 on land poorly suited to housing but scenic enough for a rural cemetery. Thick groves of cedars and terraced burial plots held by Chaumont limestone retaining walls define its design. Burial plots of old local families carry obelisks and pillars, and the 1893 George Dillenback mausoleum of rusticated limestone is the most prominent monument. An ornate cast-iron fence, brick entrance piers with a wrought-iron arch added in the 1920s, and an early twentieth-century storage shed complete the grounds. The original circuit road is now mostly grassed over. The last plots were sold in 1969. The cemetery was listed as a largely intact example of nineteenth-century landscape and funerary design and as the only rural cemetery in the town of Lyme.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues that the cemetery is a largely intact example of a nineteenth-century rural cemetery design in a small North Country village. Its cedar groves, limestone-walled terraces, circulation system and monuments were laid out to enhance the natural setting above Sawmill Bay. It is described as the only rural cemetery in the town of Lyme.
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 90001324, listed September 6, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Washington St., Chaumont |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | September 6, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001324 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Period of significance | 1873-1939 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown (architect and builder both listed as unknown) |
| Architectural style | Rural cemetery / landscape architecture |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Landscape Architecture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition rated good (fair on one line of the form); the last plots were sold in 1969 and a new cemetery was established west of the village. The form lists present use as cemetery. |
| Acreage | 3.1 |
| Coordinates | 44.06432, -76.13363 (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 90001324.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5056724
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.