The Town of Ludlow’s Oldest Standing Cemeteries
By: Samantha L., Richard L., Samantha M., and Mark B.
Where are the oldest cemeteries in Ludlow located?
Can you infer anything about the attitude of death from people back then through
epitaphs?
Our group looked at some of the oldest cemeteries that still stand today in Ludlow.
The oldest cemetery in Ludlow goes by the name of Sikes, and it’s located on Munsing Street. The land was given by Benjamin Sikes, hence the cemetery’s name, in the year 1777. Although the land was not given until that year, it was already in use as a burial ground. One old stone that stands there is the one of Reuben and Mary Chapin’s daughter. Her name was Submit, and she had passed away in 1776. Submit’s headstone is one of about twenty that stand in the cemetery today; however, many more bodies were buried there, and left unmarked. Luckily, the cemetery hasn’t been used for burial since the beginning of the nineteenth century, which has preserved its very historical state.
Old gravestone at Sikes Cemetery
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Sikes Cemetery wood sign
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Another old cemetery in Ludlow was the “Ould Burying Ground,” but today goes by the name of the Liberty Cemetery. It is found on Poole Street, and became recognized as a cemetery in 1801. The oldest headstone that stands there today belongs to Hannah Olds who was born in 1728, and perished in 1802. A very upsetting headstone that is found in this cemetery is the one of David Paine. He was killed on July 2nd, 1807, while he was on his way home from his mill job. Mr. Paine fell from his cart and one of its wheels ran over his chest. He was instantly killed. Today, the “Ould Burying Ground” is used only for its present family plots.
Stone with weeping willow motif
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Mrs. Mehetable Olds, died 1815
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In Ludlow’s oldest cemeteries, many stones are unfortunately difficult to read due to their worn, sunk-into-the-ground, decrepit conditions. However, most of the time you can see how they were designed with intricate carvings that sometimes tend to be a bit creepy. For example, the weeping willow tree is a very common carving on the stones. It represents life, knowledge, the fall of man through sin, and fulfillment. Along with the artwork, the epitaphs carved into the stones tell us much about how most New Englanders considered death. Many times, the epitaphs seem to warn the living about death. The sometimes eerie epitaphs also show us how seriously religion was taken back then. All in all, nineteenth century headstone art shows and tells us interesting facts about our town’s past.
Typical 19th century carving
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Headstone with eyes looking to heaven
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The cemeteries in Ludlow are reliable, unbiased, first-hand sources. The headstones undoubtedly tell much about the town’s history, including how many people could have possibly lived here at the time, who once lived here, how many people died in certain years, the average life span during those years, and the “normal” way of death back then. With help from dates, it’s very easy to tell which stones have been there longest. Clearly, a lot of Ludlow’s history is told through its cemeteries.
Click here to read the epitaphs on some of Ludlow’s earliest gravestones.