Walnut Hills Cemetery
About this property
Walnut Hills Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Grove Street and Allandale Road in Brookline, Massachusetts. It encompasses 45.26 acres (18.32 ha), with mature trees and puddingstone outcrops, and was laid out in 1875 in the then-fashionable rural cemetery style. Many past prominent citizens of the town, including architect H. H. Richardson, are buried here. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Walnut Hills Cemetery is located in southern Brookline, south of the junction of Grove Street and Allandale Road. Its main entrance is at that junction, with a secondary entrance a short way to the west on Grove Street. It is flanked on the south and west sides by residential areas. Covering about 45 acres (18 ha), the cemetery is characterized by rolling hills, with occasional steep slopes, and mature plantings. Paved and unpaved roads and paths wind through the cemetery, following the contours of the terrain. The cemetery's built features include its receiving tomb, built in 1901 to a design by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. The cluster of utility buildings, including a stable and shed, were designed by Guy Lowell (who is interred here) and built in 1901; Lowell is also the likely designer of the superintendent's cottage that stands near the secondary entrance. In 1874, the town of Brookline authorized the purchase of 30 acres (12 ha) for a new cemetery, as its Old Burying Ground was filling up. The town retained two landscape gardeners, Ernest Bowditch and Franklin Copeland, to oversee its layout. Most of the design for its network of lanes and paths is credited to Bowditch. The cemetery was enlarged by 1 acre (0.40 ha) in 1918 and 14 acres (5.7 ha) in 1926 to reach its present size. The first parts of the cemetery to be filled have mostly granite headstones, often with symbolic figures. In 1886, the cemetery laid down strict new rules, requiring use of slate and enforcing dimensional restrictions. These rules were later relaxed to allow for the use of dark Quincy granite, and then other forms of granite. Thomas Aspinwall (1786–1876) – second-longest-serving United States consul Gaspar G. Bacon (1886–1947) – 51st lieutenant governor of Massachusetts and President of the Massachusetts Senate from 1929–1932 Rev. Luther F. Beecher (1813–1903) – author of Gone From My Sight, cousin of Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe Arthur Tracy Cabot (1852–1912) – surgeon and president of the Massachusetts Medical Society Elizabeth Rogers Mason Cabot (1834–1920) – diarist and philanthropist Godfrey Lowell Cabot (1861–1962) – industrialist who founded the Cabot Corporation
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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.
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Questions about this property
When was Walnut Hills Cemetery listed on the National Register?
Walnut Hills Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 16, 1985.
What type of historic resource is Walnut Hills Cemetery?
Walnut Hills Cemetery is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Walnut Hills Cemetery?
The period of significance for Walnut Hills Cemetery is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near Walnut Hills 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 Walnut Hills Cemetery will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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