New Cemetery Guide Highlights West Hartford’s Historic Figures

Folks can take a self-guided tour of one of the town's most historic cemeteries and learn about notable residents and local history.

By Michael Lemanski, Patch Staff

May 7, 2026 7:26 am EDT

From Left: John Phillips, public works head; Jeff Mainville, of the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society; Mayor Shari Cantor; Town Historian Mary Donohue; and sponsors Ann Space, CEO, and Matt Manning, COO, from YHB Investment Advisors. (Town of West Hartford)

WEST HARTFORD, CT — As the country celebrates its 250th birthday this year, West Hartford is celebrating along with it.

And a recently released brochure will help locals learn a thing or two about their hometown's history and its major players.

West Hartford has released a new self-guided tour brochure highlighting notable residents, memorials, and the history of Fairview Cemetery, 200 Whitman Ave., the first in a planned series focused on the town’s historic cemeteries.

The guide was researched and written by Mary Donohue, West Hartford town historian, and draws on 19th-century West Hartford Burying Ground Committee minutes, historic maps, and newspaper archives.

Fairview Cemetery includes the graves and memorials of governors, a U.S. senator, a Nobel Prize winner, aviation pioneers, artists, politicians, and entertainers connected to West Hartford.

The brochure also traces the origins of the cemetery, including the town’s purchase of the property and the work of landscape architect Alex McClunie, who designed the cemetery in the “lawn plan” style.

The design features broad grassy spaces and scattered gravestones intended to create a park-like setting.

A Dec. 3, 1894, Hartford Courant article described the cemetery as a “beautiful tract of seventy-one acres.”

The guide also highlights the cemetery chapel, dedicated in 1906. The Gothic Revival structure was built with marble quarried in Canaan and features stained-glass windows and a large stone fireplace.

“It was an honor to uncover the history of this beloved site and a few of the fascinating stories of West Hartford residents buried there,” Donohue said about the project.

The project received funding from West Hartford’s America 250th fundraising initiative and YHB Investment Advisors.

The Fairview Cemetery brochure is available on the town’s America 250 webpage. Printed copies are available at the Fairview Cemetery office during business hours and at the Noah Webster House, 227 South Main St.