‘Tis the season for cemeteries, foliage, and foggy days. Brookside Cemetery sits in the center of Chester, a picture perfect town in southern Vermont. It is a historic, intact, linear later 18th century to early 20th century Vermont village. The cemetery is located between the Chester Historical Society (the ca. 1881 brick schoolhouse) and the 1835 Baptist Church. Across the street is the town green and on the other side of the green is a beautiful, intact row of a historic buildings. Brookside Cemetery has been in use since the 18th century; the earliest headstone dates to 1770. In New England tradition, the burials face east and the stone lettering faces west. Even on a gloomy fall day, it’s peaceful. Take a look!
Looking to the schoolhouse and the cemetery.
View to the Chester Historical Society.
Headstones.
The main entrance to the cemetery; this fence dates to 1867.
The 1850 Public Tomb was constructed of granite block cut in nearby Gassetts, VT and transported by train to Chester Depot.
The 1830 Hearse House is a museum as of 2017.
The main entrance road is lined with cedar trees. The road was laid down and the trees were planted in 1867, inspired by the Mount Auburn (MA) Cemetery and the rural garden cemetery movement.
Interested in learning more about Chester?
- Read more about Chester’s Brookside Cemetery here.
- Read the Chester Village Historic District National Register nomination here.
I love rural cemeteries, and the variety of fences from that time period.