New North Cemetery Tour Unearths Stories From West Hartford's Past

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Revolutionary War veterans, members of West Hartford's early Black community and a pioneering female publisher are among the people whose stories are highlighted in a new self-guided tour of one of the town's historic cemeteries.

West Hartford Town Historian Mary Donohue has completed a new tour brochure for North Cemetery, 80 North Main St., as part of the town's America 250 commemoration.

Subscribe

The North Cemetery guide is the third in a series Donohue developed highlighting West Hartford's historic burial grounds.

She previously completed guides to Center Cemetery and Fairview Cemetery.

Donohue spent more than 300 hours researching and developing the three brochures, according to the town.

North Cemetery was established during the Early American Republic and remained in use through the Victorian period. The cemetery is listed on the State Register of Historic Places.

Among those buried there are two dozen known Revolutionary War veterans and at least two dozen Civil War veterans.

The new guide goes beyond military history, highlighting West Hartford residents whose lives provide a window into different periods and communities in the town's past.

Among them are James Pine and Mary Louise Lisbon, members of West Hartford's Black community whose stories illustrate their agency, expertise, and roles within the community.

The tour also tells the story of Kate E. Griswold, a pioneering woman publisher who published "Profitable Advertiser," a trade journal, from 1895 to 1909.

The project comes as West Hartford participates in America 250, the nationwide commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Residents can take the North Cemetery tour on their own using the new brochure.

Digital copies of the North Cemetery guide, along with West Hartford's other historical cemetery guides, are available through the town and Noah Webster House websites.

Printed copies are available at the Noah Webster House and the West Hartford Cemetery Office at Fairview Cemetery.

For more information on Donahue's West Hartford cemetery tour series, click on this link.