Mansfield Center Cemetery

Mansfield Center Cemetery in Mansfield, Connecticut, preserves a rare visible remnant of the town’s early colonial settlement. Set aside for burials by 1693 and used until the 1870s, the small cemetery contains the oldest dated gravestone of Exercise Conant, who died in 1722, and reflects orderly burial practices with stones uniformly arranged. Its greatest distinction is an important collection of 18th- and 19th-century gravestones, many richly ornamented and attributed to numerous identifiable eastern Connecticut carvers. Because of its age and exceptional funerary art, the cemetery stands as both a local burial ground and a valuable record of early community life and regional craftsmanship.

Mansfield Center, Connecticut · United States