Picture Vernon: Bridge Over Peaceful Waters

VERNON, CT — A high spring water table made this week a perfect time to visit the latest installment of the Picture Vernon series — the waterfall at the Maxwell family burial ground.

The burial ground is tucked into a corner of the Grove Hill Cemetery. It's not some eerie ghostly setting, but a quiet place to reflect on history or to just clear one's mind. A stone bridge with a carpet of grass leads to a reflection pond at one end the the family plots on the other.

The waterfall was flowing freely this week.

The cemetery dates back to the early days of Vernon, but in 2012, the town officially accepted ownership and responsibility for the Maxwell family burial ground.

The Maxwell family was instrumental in establishing a public library in town by donating the family library building that is still in use today.

The history of the burial ground maintenance charge dates back to just before World War II, when, in March of 1941, J. Alice Maxwell, who is now deceased, created a testamentary trust to fund the perpetual care of the burial ground. According to town records, the original trustee appointed to manage the Maxwell Cemetery Trust was The Hartford-Connecticut Trust Company. The institution was subsequently acquired by the original Connecticut Bank and Trust Company, which also faded away. As a result of bank mergers and consolidations over the last several years, the management of the Maxwell Trust is now vested in Bank of America, town records indicate.

Town records indicate that at a 2012 probate hearing, a judge and a Rockville Library official were critical of the way the trust was being managed, at which time the court suggested the town be approached to officially take over the burial ground.

The move triggered termination of the cemetery trust the funds were dispersed to the town and library. A town council action put in motion a payment of $125,000 to endow the cemetery maintenance fund, money officials said was sufficient.

The town had already assumed responsibility for Grove Hill Cemetery many years ago, but it appeared that the town, by resolution, had never officially officially adopted care for the Maxwell burial ground.

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Picture Vernon is a periodic series featuring images of the town, past and present.