Old Burying Ground
Origin Story. The Old Burying Ground located on Old Clinton Road across from the Congregational Church is set on three-quarter acres of town-owned land. On the entrance wall plaque is a date of 1739 for the age of the burying ground, chosen since that is the oldest stone found, that of Marcy Chapman who died March of 1739 at age 16 months and her sister Mary who died later that year in October at age 5 weeks. It is likely there were burials prior to 1739, most likely sometime around 1726 when Reverend Worthingon, the first minister, arrived. Research is ongoing and recently found records suggest there was talk about the laying out of the burying ground as early as 1717.
Lower Cemetery. In 1835 a new cemetery was laid out on South Main Street that is called the Lower Cemetery. Burials in the Old Burying Ground stopped soon after that except for spouses of those already buried there. At some point the footstones were removed and some headstones were realigned in neater rows for the convenience of lawn mowing. The footstones were set in neat rows at the top of the hill where no one was buried.
Mapping Project. There are several different types of stones found in the Old Burying Ground, namely primitive, sandstone or often called brownstone, marble, and slate. In late 2020 the Historical Society, with grant money from the Westbrook Foundation embarked on a project to map out the burial ground with what lies above ground using LiDar technology, a kind of ultrasound process using points of light; and what lies below using ground penetrating radar(GPR) technology. The two technologies were combined to give us a map showing burials in relationship to the stones. A Zoom presentation of the result of that project can be viewed on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1ZH8ccB0_xY
Restoration Work. Preserving the headstones for future generations is one of the Historical Society’s missions. Since 2016, over 100 stones in the Old Burying Ground and in the Lower cemetery restored thanks to funding support from the Westbrook Foundation and the Westbrook Historical Society. Many were damaged, broken, or hazardous defined as those that could easily toppled over and cause injury. Photos of the restorations are available to view at the historical society with a weatlh of information engraved on each stone.
A Complete List of Westbrook Cemeteries