Mount Feake Cemetery

Mount Feake Cemetery
Location 203 Prospect St., Waltham, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°21′52″N 71°14′58″W / 42.36444°N 71.24944°WCoordinates: 42°21′52″N 71°14′58″W / 42.36444°N 71.24944°W
Area Template:Conert
Built 1857
Architect Copeland,Robert Morris; Et al.
Architectural style Italianate, Romanesque
Governing body Local
MPS Waltham MRA
NRHP Reference #

89001497

[1]
Added to NRHP September 28, 1989

Mount Feake Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 203 Prospect Street in Waltham, Massachusetts. Established in 1857, it is the city's second cemetery, after Grove Hill Cemetery, and is one of the best-preserved garden cemeteries in the state. It takes its name from Waltham's highest point, Mount Feake, which was named by Governor John Winthrop in 1632 for his future son-in-law, Robert Feake.[2] The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.[1]

Mount Feake Cemetery was designed by Robert Morris Copeland, and was from its inception compared to the older Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. It stands on a somewhat rugged parcel of land that rises above the Charles River across from the Waltham Watch Company complex. A series of winding lanes, designed to complement the terrain, provide access to all parts of the cemetery. Most of the grave markers are made of granite, although marble and limestone are also well-represented.[2]

One unusual item adds some romantic charm to the cemetery. The remains of a brick water pumping station, built in 1872 and enlarged in 1896-97, stand on the grounds of the cemetery, and provides a picturesque ruin to the environment. Adjacent to this building stand two Italianate houses, as well as a carriage house and sheds, that were historically associated with the pumping station.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "NRHP nomination for Mount Feake Cemetery". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-04-29.