Cavendish Semiquincentennial: Cavendish Cemeteries

Below is information about the Cavendish cemeteries, which the town maintains:
Coffeen (S. Reading Road): Not long after John Coffeen settled in Cavendish, he and his wife set out for Charlestown, NH for supplies and grinding their grist. Due to a snowstorm, the parents did not return for six weeks. During this time, one of the Coffeen children became ill and died. The other children kept the body in the house until the parent’s return, at which time, due to heavy snow, the body was buried across the road from the house. Coffeen decided that this would be the family’s cemetery. Coffeens, Baldwins and at least four Revolutionary soldiers are buried there.

Old Revolutionary Cemetery (off of Brook Rd): 1778- The earliest burial in town was that of Henry Proctor in the Old Revolutionary Cemetery, located off of Brook Rd in Cavendish. The 1760 Crown Point Road passes to the right (north) of this cemetery.

Cavendish Cemetery (High Street): 1790- First burial in the Cavendish Village cemetery on High Street. The land originally belonged to Salmon Dutton, but the town bought the land from several local people.

Twenty Mile Stream Cemetery: 1793-Samuel Hutchinson Sr, who gave the land for The Twenty Mile Stream Cemetery in Proctorsville, buried the first person there, his wife Abigail.

Pest Cemetery: 1811-1815-Spotted fever epidemic. Many of the early settlers died, particularly the young and the old. The Pesthouse Cemetery, located on the upper end of Town-Farm Road was a place to bury those who died from contagious disease such as small pox. The only marker in this cemetery is for Jotham Wheelock b 8-26-1763 d 4-27-1831.

Mt. Union Cemetery (Center Road): 1805-First burial occurs. The land was obtained from several local citizens.

Proctor Cemetery (Main Street Proctorsville): 1816-First burial occurs. The land was donated by the Proctors and contains the graves of this family.

Hillcrest Cemetery (Proctorsville, off of 103 on Bailey Hill RD): 1828-First Burial. The land was obtained from the Proctors. The tomb was built in 1897. Just before entering the Hillcrest Cemetery, there used to be a “potter’s field.” During the Depression (1930’s), this area was plowed and used for planting potatoes. Only three graves remain in this area of the cemetery.

For information about who is buried in Cavendish cemeteries, the Cavendish Historical Society’s Cemeteries of Cavendish: 1776-1976 Bicentennial Project is available for sale at the Cavendish Town Office and at the Museum. It can also be ordered by sending a check to CHS for $5 to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish VT 05142.