CONCORD, N.H. — A nearly 300-year-old cemetery in Kingston, New Hampshire, that’s the final resting place of a signer of the Declaration of Independence has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Established circa 1725, the Plains Cemetery served as the town’s primary burying ground through the early 20th century, the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources said. Sections were added through 1957.

Josiah Bartlett, the first constitutional governor and second signer of the Declaration of Independence, after John Hancock, is buried there. He died in 1795.

The earliest markers include some rough field stones, some with chiseled lettering. Markers of the 18th and early 19th centuries are mostly slate, red or gray sandstone, or fieldstone. Later ones were made of marble and granite.

Gravestone art includes winged faces, urns and willows, and Victorian-era images such as wilted roses, a sheaf of wheat, or a hand with an index finger pointing to heaven.

The cemetery’s most elaborate pedestal monument is to Major Edward S. Sanborn, who was known in the 1880s for funding a local educational seminary, donating to churches and public improvement — and whose fortune in Boston came from illegal means as the proprietor of multiple houses of prostitution, the division said.

In New Hampshire, the listing makes property owners eligible for grants such as the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program and the Conservation License Plate Program.

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

Related Stories
Latest Articles