About this property
Gate Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Ireland Street in West Chesterfield, Massachusetts. It is located just under one mile (1.6 km) south of the center of West Chesterfield, the junction of Main Road and Ireland Street. The 1/3 acre cemetery is on a plateau of land on the east side of Ireland Street, flanked to the east by the Westfield River and to the west by a steep hillside. It takes its name from a toll gate that was erected nearby when the area was settled in the late 18th century. The date of the cemetery's establishment is uncertain, but may be related to a deed transfer of land in the area to the town in 1794. The oldest grave marker, that of Joseph Gere, dates to 1808, while the latest (one of only three dated after 1959) is dated 1997. There are 121 full markers and 26 fragments, and there may be unmarked gravesites. The markers are laid out in 13 rows in the roughly rectangular plot. Most of the markers are marble, although there are number that are granite or slate. Five of the markers are obelisks; none of them exhibit any particular artistic sophistication. The plot is demarcated by fieldstone walls about four feet high; the entrance is marked by two granite posts, into which pockets are carved that hold wooden rails that must be removed to gain access to the grounds. None of the gravesites is fenced off, and there are no circulating paths or roadways on the grounds. The cemetery, along with the nearby Ireland Street Cemetery, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Gate Cemetery
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Questions about this property
When was Gate Cemetery listed on the National Register?
Gate Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 30, 2009.
What type of historic resource is Gate Cemetery?
Gate Cemetery is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Gate Cemetery?
The period of significance for Gate Cemetery is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1794.
Can I research the history near Gate Cemetery?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Gate Cemetery will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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