By Florence Goodman

Wolcott Historical Society News By Florence Goodman (11.12.24)

Fall seems to bring with it an increased interest in cemeteries, so I felt it was time to revisit the history of the five early cemeteries in Wolcott; they are Edgewood, Pike's or Rose Hill, Southeast, Northeast, and Woodtick.

Much history can be acquired by visiting cemeteries. They hold information about its residents, wars, epidemics and disasters that might have affected the town and its people. Early tombstones have many interesting inscriptions and designs carved into them. Symbols found on these stones portray various meanings. For example, the tulip symbolizes immortality and the peacock represents eternity. Historians feel that tombstones carved prior to 1800 were an art form. Early New England stonecutters made stones with various designs and symbols that were time consuming to produce; thus, after 1805 designs and stones became more simplified.

The first burying ground established in the settlement of Farmingbury was Edgewood or Evergreen Cemetery located on Bound Line Road near the center of town. In 1764 at a town meeting held in Waterbury, Captains George Nichols and Stephen Upson Jr. were chosen to view and purchase a half-acre of land for a burying ground, which they did. In 1798 at another town meeting, it was agreed to increase the burying ground to three-fourths of an acre. By 1870 this cemetery was again too small, so it was enlarged to almost two acres. Today this cemetery is still in use and has been enlarged several more times and is maintained by a cemetery association. If you visit this cemetery, the original section is on the right as you enter. Some of the names of the early settlers of our town that are buried there are Alcott, Andrews, Atkins, Beach, Bronson, Finch, Harrison, Kenea, Minor, Norton, Pritchard, Thomas, Tuttle, Upson and many more. Veterans from the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War are buried in this cemetery.

The Society of Farmingbury established the Southeast burying ground in 1772. This cemetery is located on property now owned by the town of Southington not far from the intersection of County Road and East Street, but the cemetery is still maintained by the Town of Wolcott. The earliest inscription on a tombstone in this graveyard is January 1, 1782, for Archebald Upson who died at age twenty. There were fifty-two settlers buried in this cemetery from 1782 to 1939. Family names such as Lewis, Upson, Tuttle, Barnes, Brown, Byington, Carter and Frost are found here. Over the years this cemetery has been preserved because of the watchful eyes of the Southington Reservoir crew and two Wolcott residents Gary Gemino and Jay Crocco. Gary and Jay repaired broken stones and made sure all was well at this beautiful old burying ground.

Pike's Hill or Rose Hill Cemetery was established in 1774 in the northeast section of town off of Woodtick Road. This burying ground was used for about thirty years and contained only a small number of graves. In 1805 the town voted to purchase a larger piece of land down the hill for the new larger Northeast or Beecher Cemetery. Many of the graves from Pike's Hill Cemetery were removed and placed in the new cemetery. The six stones that remain there are worn down and the names on the stones are almost illegible. Reverend Samuel Orcutt listed these stones in his book, "History of the Town of Wolcott From 1731 to 1874" and stated that three were made of brown stone and three of blue stone. The three brown stones were for Mrs. Rachel Brackitt, who died October 17, 1776; Mr. Mathew Blakslee who died on May 28,1776; and Rhoda Blakslee who died on March 12, 1781. The three blue stone monuments were for Abner Blaksly who died Nov. 27, 1791; Ithamer Alcox, who died Aug. 9, 1778; and Lyman Alcox who died Nov. 17, 1781.

Two Eagle Scout Projects were completed at this cemetery, one by Steve Lago from Troop 231 in 2010 and another in 2019 by Ben Podzunas from Troop 230. Both projects entailed clearing the trees and undergrowth that had taken over the area and standing up several stones. In September of 2024, Tyson Cornelio and his grandmother, Arline Tansley cleaned the leaves and weeds from the area. For more information on these projects go to our website at wolcotthistory.org.

The Northeast Cemetery was created in 1805 on a piece of land on lower Beecher Road off Woodtick Road. This cemetery was established because Pike's Hill became too small. The earliest date on a tombstone in this cemetery was 1781 for Martin Carter, whose grave was probably moved from Pike's Hill to this one. The last burial date found on a tombstone is January 18, 1927, for Benjamin L. Bronson. This cemetery's remote location has allowed it to be vandalized on numerous occasions; vandals have broken or destroyed many of the tombstones. In the fall of 2008, the town crew improved the road leading into the Northeast Cemetery to make way for a major clean up by the Boy Scouts. The Scouts and their leaders spent a full day removing many trees to make room for a new fence that was installed shortly thereafter. Since then, the town crew has kept the grass mowed during the spring and summer months. In the fall of 2012 Michael Jacobson completed an Eagle Scout project there to help stop erosion at the entrance gate. Michael, his team and the town crew worked together to complete this project. They built large steps leading up into the cemetery and planted shrubs and grass seed on each side of the steps. A stainless sign with a brief history of the cemetery was placed on one of the concrete barriers to let visitors know about its historical significance.

The Woodtick Cemetery is located on Woodtick Road near the corner of Todd Road and backs up to property on Pleasant Street. It was established on November 20, 1807. The entrance to the cemetery is found just south of the Woodtick Memorial and as you enter the dirt driveway you will see the original historic section. This cemetery has been enlarged to allow more gravesites and is under the supervision of a cemetery association. The earliest date of a burial here is Julia Upson on November 21, 1813; she was 20 years of age. Tombstones of many early settlers such as Browne, Byington, Cole, Harrison, Finch, Frisbie, Garthwait, Hall, Hitchcock, Nichols, Todd, Upson, Wakelee, Weber and Welton are found here.

The last cemetery I'd like to mention is Allentown Cemetery. It is in Terryville on Allentown Road just over the Wolcott border. This cemetery has many Wolcott residents buried in it because it was located so close to the northwestern border of our town. This cemetery is well-kept and easy to access. To locate this cemetery, follow Spindle Hill Road to Allentown Road. The cemetery is located about a quarter of a mile past Todd Hollow Road on the left-hand side of the road. Some early settlers from our town that are buried here are members of the Alcott, Andrews, Lane, Downs, Thomas, Bassett and Allen families.

On November 14th at 2:00 P.M. I will present a PowerPoint discussion at the Wolcott Public Library on old cemeteries of Wolcott. It will include photographs of old tombstones and many old tombstone rubbings that were done in 1991 by some of my Project Explore students from Alcott Middle School.

(All information for this article was taken from Samuel Orcutt's The History of Wolcott, Connecticut from 1781 to 1874; the 1933 Charles R. Hale Collection of Cemetery tombstones; and the November 2019 and December 2019 articles in the Wolcott Community News by Florence Goodman)

Tombstone of Heman Hall at Edgewood Cemetery.

Tombstone of Stephen Barnes at Southeast Cemetery.

Tombstone for Matthew Blakslee at Rose Hill or Pike's Hill Cemetery.

The Northeast Cemetery

Frisbie tombstone at Woodtick Cemetery

Luther Andrews tombstone in Allentown Cemetery in Terryville.

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