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Subject: [MACHELSEA] http://olgp.net/chs/parks/garden.htm
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 22:22:58 EST
GARDEN CEMETARY
The 1830's became a turning point in Chelsea history. The population of
Chelsea inclusive of Revere, Winthrop, and the panhandle, was recorded at 770. Of
that population thirty people lived in the Village {Chelsea today}. In 1831
Francis B. Fay with a group of others, acting under the name of the Winnisimmet
Company, purchased the one-hundred thirty acre Williams farm. The Williams
Farm and the Ferry were purchased at a price of $22,500 plus $5,000 paid to
Boston for a release of claim to landing in Boston. On March 27, 1833, the
Winnisimmet Company received it's charter. The Shurtleff Farm consisting of two
hundred and twenty acres was purchased by the Winnisimmet Company in 1835, for
$50,000. All the marsh land west of Walnut Street, including the dyke, was
purchased from Thomas Furber in 1846, for $13,300. The dyke and other improvements
made after purchase, brought the total cost of the Furber land to $27,000. After
each land purchase, streets were laid out and plans for home and building lots
were drawn. Within the first year of the purchase of the Shurtleff Farm,
one-sixth was sold in lots with a profit of $26,581.11 above the initial purchase.
The Village hit a growth surge, home and building construction was taking
place throughout. The population in the village grew rapidly, exceeding the
Center {Revere}. The center of community life shifted to the village. At this time,
the villagers made note of the fact that there was no graveyard to
accommodate them. The nearest burial ground was the Rumney Marsh Burial Grounds near the
Center. A meeting was held in Slade's Hall for the establishment of a
"convenient and suitable location for a burial place for the inhabitants of
Winnisimmet Village." At a second meeting held on August 9, 1841, the Garden Cemetery
Corporation was formed. A committee of eight men was appointed to select and
purchase a site for a burial ground. The committee made their report at a public
meeting in the vestry of the Methodist Church, on August 30, 1841.
The first location proposed was on the land of Mr. Joshua Carter, between
County Road and Mr. Furber's marsh. The lot consisted of over 7.1 acres for
$13,440.84, of which only three acres was sufficiently dry enough to use.
Mr. Edward Pratt offered to sell a piece of land in the Pratt neighborhood,
but the distance from the village and any public road put it out of the
question.
Mr. Patrick Carbury offered twenty acres in the same neighborhood but only
about five acres were suitable quality for a cemetery.
A small triangular piece of land, offered by the Winnisimmet Company, on
Broadway near the Cary farm was of insufficient size.
The next location proposed was the Winnisimmet Academy land, containing 3.1
acres. It was bordered by Central and Chester Avenue, Shawmut Street and
Winnisimmet Company property.
The Winnisimmet Academy land was chosen by the Garden Cemetery Corporation,
and dedicated November 4, 1841. The Garden Cemetery Corporation operated the
Cemetery until it was acquired by the City of Chelsea in 1905. The first person
buried in the cemetery was an aged gentleman by the name of Daniel Ballard.
At the entrance to the cemetery stands a monument erected to the memory of
the founders of the Garden Cemetery Corporation.
A soldier's lot was purchased by the City of Chelsea to the war dead of the
Civil War. A monument was also erected by the City with the inscription: A
memorial in honor of the citizen soldiers of Chelsea who at the call of their
country and in defence of freedom and the American Union, sacrificed their lives
in the Civil War 1861 - 1865.
The "Friends of Garden Cemetery" a volunteer group of citizens, spend
countless hours clearing and cleaning the cemetery each year, maintaining the
deserved respect to those put to eternal rest in these grounds.
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