West Roxbury - Westerly Burying Ground Conflict and Secession

Westerly Burying Ground Conflict and Secession

Westerly Burying Ground, also known as Westerly Burial Ground, (currently at Centre and Lagrange Streets) was established in 1683 to permit local burial of residents of Jamaica Plain and the western end of Roxbury. When West Roxbury was still part of Roxbury, the town’s first burial place was today’s Eliot Burying Ground, near the present-day Dudley Square. This was a long distance to travel for the inhabitants of West Roxbury and in 1683 the town selectmen voted to establish a local burying place, now known as Westerly Burying Ground. A conflict between the rural and more urbanized parts of the town led to the split of West Roxbury from Roxbury proper in 1851. West Roxbury became part of the City of Boston on January 5, 1874. Westerly Burying Ground served as this community’s burial place well into the 19th century. The oldest graves contain many of the town’s earliest and most prominent families. Eight veterans of the American Revolution and fifteen veterans of the American Civil War are also buried here. War veterans interred are detailed in the article “Westerly” and the Civil War. The site is significant for its large collection of three centuries of funerary art. One-third of its extant gravestones date from the 18th century; almost half date from the 19th century and only about twenty bear 20th-century dates. Another distinguishing feature of Westerly Burying Ground is the number of individual mound tombs found here. Mound tombs at other burying grounds are typically larger, built to contain a number of bodies. The oldest gravestone, from 1691, commemorates James and Merriam Draper, members of a prominent West Roxbury family. Headstones provide an historic record of three centuries of West Roxbury residents and also illustrate the skills of local stone carvers.