Prior to 1842, Oak Hill Cemetery was known as Old Maid’s Hall and consisted of about fifty burial sites in a small area. In January of 1842, Reverend Thomas B. Fox, pastor of the First Religious Society of Newburyport, and other leading citizens formed a board of trustees to oversee the design and management of a rural garden cemetery, which was to be one of the first in the United States.

Additional land was purchased from the Moses Brown family, and on a beautiful day in July of 1842, a consecration ceremony attended by over two thousand people was held.

To learn more about the history of the cemetery, schedule a tour with Ghlee E. Woodworth. : info@oakhillcemeterynewburyport.com

To purchase a copy of the New England and New York Book Festival award winning book by Ghlee E. Woodworth: Tiptoe Through the Tombstones, Oak Hill Cemetery, email: pcbahati@yahoo.com or call 978 462-2010. $20.00 plus $5.00 shipping. Great holiday or birthday gift.

This tour guide book is for enthusiasts of old cemeteries and who have a passion for New England history. Visit the gravesites and read about Newburyport sea captains and merchants, architects and photographers, writers and poets, silversmiths and newspaper editors, and adventurers who travelled to the Klondike gold rush.

Includes: hardcover, 240 pages, colored maps, suggested tours, 300 images, and biographies of eighty people who lived primarily during the 1800s.