First Burial Ground

This burial ground is presumed to be the burying place of Norton’s pioneer settlers. William Witherell, who died in September 1691, was buried at the west end of the burial ground, and when the land was passed to Nathaniel Witherell by his father, the deed stated that the pioneer William Witherell was buried there. Daniel Woodward, a Revolutionary War soldier, lies in an unmarked grave. Originally located in an open field, the burial ground was not fenced until 1894, when the town appropriated money to enclose it with granite posts and iron pipes. Many graves are marked only by ordinary fieldstones with no markings, while others are marked and dated from 1759 to 1822, and all of the marked stones bear the names Weterell, Dean, or Lincoln. Because the site stood on wet ground, it was not used after 1822. Lloyd S. Lincoln and his wife Mary A. Lincoln transferred the burial ground to the town on November 29, 1894.

Norton, Massachusetts · United States