A History of the Milton Cemetery

Milton Cemetery's evolving landscape and storied headstones vividly reveal centuries of Milton's diverse historic legacy.

Laid out in 1672 as the Field of Reedman, Milton Cemetery evolved over the next three-and-a-half centuries as the only place of burial in Milton, Massachusetts. From the burying ground of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was redesigned as a rural, or arboretum cemetery, in the mid to late nineteenth century by renowned landscape architects. Copeland and Cleveland, Whitman & Breck, and Ernest W. Bowditch, all known nationally, would impart their ideas of landscape design to create a bucolic cemetery with hills, dells, and valleys.

Anthony Sammarco is a former trustee of the Milton Cemetery and has also written a walking tour of the cemetery. He often leads tours that not only touch upon the funereal iconography of the headstones but also the stories of the “permanent residents,” those that represent a cross section of Miltonians of all walks of life. From the founders of Kidder, Peabody Company, and Fidelity Investments to the owners of S.S. Pierce & Company, Durgin Park, Bacardi Rum, and Blanchard’s Wines and Spirits, to artists, authors and philanthropists, this book is a fascinating glimpse into the history of Milton and the Milton Cemetery.