Stones and Bones of New England: A Guide To Unusual, Historic, And Otherwise Notable Cemeteries

by Lisa Rogak

Whether it's for their solace and beauty or for the sense of history that seeps from the ground, cemeteries are fascinating places to visit, and this guide shows where to find the most interesting and unusual ones in all of New England. Some have headstones that are fine art, others are associated with notorious events, and others are the final resting place of famous poets, soldiers, and statesmen. Included are large public facilities as well as the small family burying grounds hidden away behind crumbling stone walls and along once-cultivated farmland.

A sampling of cemeteries

* Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont, where lifelike sculptures of angels and Greek goddesses stand next to a stone soccer ball and Shell Oil truck gravemarker, all elaborately carved from local granite by immigrant Italian stonecutters.

* Spider Gates Cemetery , in Leicester, Massachusetts, a notorious Quaker burying ground famed for its frequent ghost sightings and still in use today.

*A cemetery situated on the raised median of the Interstate in Warner, New Hampshire,which was preserved in 1970 by highway planners, who constructed the roadway around it.

* Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Vermont, final resting place of Timothy Clark Smith, whose 1893 crypt includes a window to help him escape in case he was buried alive.

Driving directions are provided for each cemetery, and detailed maps show the location of the more obscure graveyards. This unique guide offers an intriguing way to learn about the history and culture of New England.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

My new book Propaganda Girls: The Secret War of the Women in the OSS will be published on March 4, 2025.

Lisa Rogak is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 40 books, which have been published in more than two dozen languages. Her books Barack Obama: In His Own Words, and Angry Optimist: The Life & Times of Jon Stewart, hit the New York Times bestseller lists. Haunted Heart: The Life & Times of Stephen King was nominated for both the Edgar and Anthony Awards.

Her books have been reviewed and otherwise mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and hundreds of other publications. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as the featured guest in a show about small towns to promote her book, Moving to the Country Once and For All.

She lives in New Hampshire and is currently at work on a memoir.

Reviews

[Lisa-Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This jewel of a book takes you on a detailed tour of about 120 old cemeteries still around from Connecticut to Vermont. Rogak is very thorough while also throwing in funny stories about creepy old headstones. “His monument in the southern corner of the cemetery accurately captures the flamboyance and sheer gall of the man when alive: On each of the four corners of the tall monument perch four elaborately carved women, naked from the waist up and holding a portion of Fisk’s lost empire.” I have seen a few of these cemeteries, with their toppling stones and 200-year-old trees. The atmosphere is thick with mystery. Swan Point and Mount Auburn are among my favorites. Rogak does a great job of highlighting hilarious epitaphs such as “He’s done a-catching cod, and gone to meet his God” and she notes famous people and ghost stories where they appear. She explains the carving of skulls and angels and fish. But the most fun is just reading her descriptions of the people buried in the early days of our country and what was important to them. “She was in a state of health suddenly summoned to the skies and snatched from the eager embraces of her friends and the throbbing hearts of her disconsolate family when she swallowed a pea at her own table. Mary McHard March 18, 1780.”

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a taphophile (a word I learned from this book) then this is a very fun book to read. I say fun as it is not incredibly in depth - each cemetery was only given a page - but it certainly had some anecdotes that made it worth the time spent to read it. I intend to use this book to plan some future hunts for epitaphs. I will say that it is very "niche", of course. I don't expect there to be much interest in this book beyond those who are already involved in the hobby.

[Vaughnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fellow taphophiles.

[Seana McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 I absolutely love this book and how it is set up. I have learned so much I simply wish there was more. There were a few cemeteries I had wished that she mentioned and there were several where I wish I had more information. Each cemetery in the book is about a page and a half long. Other than me simply wanting more haha I truly loved reading this book and flew through it. I highly recommend to anyone interested in cemeteries or New England history.

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be a reference book that I would skim through. Turns out it had a bunch of short curious tales about each cemetery. I ended up reading the whole book. Definitely worth a peek if you are going to be visiting any cemeteries in New England.

[Eileen Poles · Rating 4 out of 5]

great places but which there were other cities included

[Nikki Clark]

Particularly was interested in the "hidden" cemetery in Warner, NH that I've driven past many times without knowing- good book overall for quick facts about local cemetaries.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as detailed as I would have liked.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great asset in my genealogy project for sure.

[Lorraine A Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good guide to many historic cemeteries I’d like to visit and a few I’ve been to, admiring their archeology and early artwork.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book is “A Guide to Unusual, Historic, and Otherwise Notable Cemeteries”, but I’ve found it to be a series of one to two page vignettes about 95 cemeteries in the six New England states. The author has selected what she found to be the most interesting tombstone in each graveyard, adding one or two more if she found them remarkable. A photo accompanies each of the locations.

The back cover describes Stones and Bones as a guide that provides all the tools that you need to explore on your own. If you like to drop into old cemeteries and putter around a bit, I suppose that’s true. For those with a deeper interest in funeral and burial practices, gravestone iconography, and epitaphs, there is little here to hold that interest. Included is some limited but useful information on almshouse burials, some brief description of the headstones of a few famous individuals, and dashes of humor. The photos, though black and white, are sharp and clear. It also identifies the oldest legible gravestone in CT (1644, Windsor.) My favorite chapter was the final one, entitled Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard, where retired ice cream flavors are commemorated with hokey epitaphs and images of winged ice cream cones apparently ready to fly to ice cream heaven. Who knew?!

Recommended for the most casual of cemetery visitors.

[Mandy Huot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book! I plan to write a full review for my youtube show. I loved the pictures and the interesting stories that some of the cemeteries have. I can only imagine how long it took her to travel to all these cemeteries.

[Jennifer Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent descriptions of unique New England cemeteries by state. I enjoyed the unusual references. This is a quick read that will stimulate some cemetery visits....Perhaps even a rubbing or two. I particularly liked the appendices of symbols and abbreviations. Great reference tool.

[Rowan MacBean · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

Lots of interesting information! And it doesn't read like a dry, boring guide book.

[Sean Andrew Mcgann · Rating 4 out of 5]

a colorful read about the cemeteries and colorful people buried in them, after reading i drove out to some of the cemeteries in it and took pictures of some colorful tombstones !