By STEVEN JUPITER
New Englanders have always had a gothic streak. From our earliest days, we’ve been obsessed with spirits and ghosts and our cemeteries often reflect a macabre disposition. Headstones in our ancient graveyards can be elaborately carved, with skulls and other symbols of death, and sometimes bear inscriptions urging us to ponder our impermanence.
Just in time for Halloween month, author Roxie Zwicker has recently released the Vermont installment of her “Book of the Dead” series, which focuses on graveyards and their lore state by state through New England. Zwicker has made a career of New England macabre and knows her stuff. The book is a fascinating, entertaining romp through some of Vermont’s most notable boneyards, sometimes focusing on the artistry of the headstones and sometimes on the stories of the people interred thereunder. Even though the material may initially seem dark to some, Zwicker approaches it as a combination anthropologist/historian, looking at what our burial practices tell us about ourselves and, in this case, the history of Vermont:
“The burial places of Vermont each share in the telling of the history of Vermont from its earliest settlements through the battles and skirmishes bravely fought to establish a thriving state that is rich in beauty and history.”
Zwicker explores Vermont’s cemeteries by region: Southern, South-Central, Central, Northwest, and The Northeast Kingdom. In each, she focuses on a handful of burial sites that seem especially notable, whether for the remarkable statuary (Hope Cemetery in Barre or Dellwood Cemetery in Manchester) or the historical importance (Old Bennington Cemetery) or the uniqueness of the site (Ben and Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard in Waterbury). In our area, Zwicker visits Shard Villa in Salisbury, Middlebury Cemetery in Middlebury, the marble monuments of Proctor, and the Congregational Cemetery in Castleton, letting us know what’s special about these places we pass so frequently without much thought.
Zwicker also delights in the legends and lore of our state’s graveyards. In Dellwood (Manchester), for example, she delves into the backstory of Isaac Burton and his wives, Hulda and Rachel. Without spoiling the fun, it can be revealed that the story involves claims of vampirism. In Dummerston, Zwicker recounts the belief that entire families could be stricken dead from tuberculosis (then called “consumption”) if a root or vine connected the coffins of a family’s already-stricken members. She goes on to describe a bizarre practice in Washington County where ailing, aged, or weak family members were “killed” for the winter and revived in the spring. You’ll also learn about “receiving tombs” that were used to store corpses of folks who died in the winter until the ground thawed enough for a proper burial in the spring.
In a phone conversation about the book, Ms. Zwicker revealed a fascination with both Vermont and graveyards stretching back to her youth. She grew up in the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts but visited Vermont often as a child.
“I always had a love for Vermont,” she said. “And I was always asking for spooky stories.”
But her interest in cemeteries goes beyond an interest in the macabre.
“People often take it as morbid,” she said. “But cemeteries are truly museums and they’re often overlooked. You can learn a lot about a community. I always look for the oldest stone when I visit a graveyard for the first time. You can really see in the 18th century where people came from and how the community came together.” Here, Zwicker was referring to the old custom of inscribing the deceased’s place of birth along with the dates of their birth and death.
And part of Zwicker’s mission is to encourage preservation of old boneyards, many of which have suffered the ravages of time and weather. In Vermont, many of the headstones were carved in marble, a relatively soft material that erodes over time. A visit to any 18th– or 19th-century cemetery in Vermont will contain numerous deteriorating headstones, some so worn by the elements that they’re no longer legible.
“When they’re gone, they’re gone,” said Zwicker. “If everybody could take a moment to look at their old graveyards…they’re up against so much. We have a responsibility to them, and I try to be as involved as possible in my own community.”
In Vermont, Zwicker’s favorite burial sites are the Old Bennington Cemetery, for its historical importance and terrific state of preservation (“Absolutely amazing”) and the Bowman Mausoleum in Cuttingsville, which has one of the most striking pieces of sepulchral statuary in New England. Anyone who’s passed it on Route 103 will never forget it.
In New England overall, Zwicker recommends Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts for the abundance of early colonial stones and striking physical location above the harbor (“the founders are still keeping watch”).
But her favorite cemetery of all is Mt. Auburn in Cambridge, established in 1831 and the first “garden” cemetery in the United States. It’s fair to say that Mt. Auburn revolutionized the way Americans approached cemeteries. Eschewing monotonous rows of stones, Mt. Auburn was designed as a park with winding paths that passed almost incidentally by gravesites. Mt. Auburn is a beautiful place to take a stroll and see the resting places of numerous important figures in New England history.
In fact, Pine Hill Cemetery in Brandon, which was established in the 1850s, was designed in the style of Mt. Auburn and still retains in its older sections the feel of a meandering park rather than a cemetery.
Other burial grounds worth visiting in the area are the Brandon Town Cemetery next to the Congregational Church. There are some lovely examples of the carver’s art in there and some memorable epitaphs. The cemetery was in use from the 1700s until the mid-1800s. The cemetery adjacent to the Pittsford Congregational Church also has some fine old stones. A walk through any of these is a fine way to get into the spirit of Halloween, which began as a holiday to celebrate the dead.
Ms. Zwicker offers tours and lectures on various macabre topics. She will be giving a presentation at the Norwich Inn in Norwich, Vermont on October 7 at 6 p.m. for anyone interested in hearing her speak further on the subject. You can also visit her website at newenglandcuriosities.com for more information about her work.
“The Vermont Book of the Dead” is available at historypress.com. At only 142 pages, it’s an enjoyable, quick read for those interested in Vermont history and the macabre.
