Mechanic Street Cemetery - Westfield, MA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Mechanic Street Cemetery is a 3.98 acre graveyard which is typical of 17th and 18th century town burial grounds. The entrance to the cemetery is marked by an ornate cast iron gate installed in 1894. The graveyard is roughly a trapezoid which has irregular rows broken up with a few larger family plots. There are no formal paths but grassy aisles run down the longer north-south direction and the shorter east west direction conveniently forming about ten somewhat distinct zones. The graveyard was used from about 1670 to the mid 19th century.

Most of the grave markers are simple tablet headstones made of Connecticut Valley sandstone or soft Berkshire granite. Some of the larger monuments are obelisks, pedestal markers, and a few table stones. The exhibit a variety of folk art style of anonymous carvers such as winged death's head and soul, hourglass, carved portraits, and willows and urns.

There are several monuments in the cemetery including one that lists the names of Revolutionary War veterans interred on the grounds, a monument to the those who fought in the Revolutionary War and one for the Colonial Wars. The most notable person buried in the cemetery is General William Shepard. who was the highest ranking member of the Continental Army from Western Massachusetts and subsequently represented Westfield in Congress.

The key to the gate can be obtained during regular library hours and upon showing identification, from the Reference Librarian at the Westfield Atheneum.

Street address: Mechanic Street Westfield, MA United States 01085 County / Borough / Parish: Hampden Year listed: 2002 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1899, 1850-1874, 1825-1849, 1800-1824, 1750-1799, 1700-1749, 1650-1699 Historic function: Funerary Current function: Funerary Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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