An Unknown Family Cemetery between South Main and North Streets

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by Marjorie Turner Hollman, published December 7, 2023

Members of the Bellingham Historical Commission set out on a field trip in late November 2023. They had received a message from a former Bellingham resident, Don Desaulniers talking about a small, probably family, cemetery behind North Street.

After adding the matter to the commission’s meeting agenda and obtaining permission from the land owners, members set a date to cross Omar Wenger’s farm property to access the area where the cemetery was supposed to be. They met near Vendetti’s bus barn and used an access path to cross the farm fields to reach the designated area they hope to explore. The parcel was surrounded by stone walls. Much of the area had been clear cut some years before. Remnants of the clear cutting operation remain in the form of decaying branches and stumps, with quantities of stones that had been bulldozed. In the midst of the tangled brush was a pillar that had been constructed of field stones cemented together.

Members explored the area near the stone pillar and tromped through the slash (residue of clear cutting) to the outer edges of the parcel enclosed by the stone walls. The commission consulted town maps and other information they had gained from the work of Bridgewater University graduate student Lindsay Sezen, who performed a survey of the town’s archeological resources.

From Sezen’s report the commission learned that stone walls surrounded the property at least as early as the beginning of the 20^th century. She also found a deed that indicated there was “about 1/3 of an acre of land used as a private cemetery surrounded by stone walls and wire fences, together with the right of way as now laid out and used, leading from the cemetery to the Bellingham and Woonsocket Road.”

After the commission’s field trip they sent their photos to Desaulniers. After seeing them he was able to confirm that this was indeed the area he recalled visiting when he was a child here in town.

He noted, “The first picture of the tall monument is definitely what was there when I was a kid living on Glenbrook Ave. The area was accessed by an entrance in a stone wall that bordered the field. The road to the entrance began at [Rt.] 126 and cut straight through the field. We speculated that the graves belonged to a family that once farmed the area. You definitely found what I was referring to.”

The commission is interested in conducting further inquires after this initial visit. They look forward to keeping residents informed when they learn more. They also invite members of the community to visit the Ernie Taft Historical Museum in the town administration complex at the intersection of Rts. 140 and 126, at 3 Common Street. Check the commission website for hours the museum is open and ways to contact the commission.