Ashland's Village Burial Ground

05/06/2026

Spring has sprung and…. we’re back!

1. The Working Group is focused on all work that must occur before Bridgewater State University completes the ground penetrating radar started last year.

2. The Boy Scouts will be providing new flags for the graves of our Civil War Veterans

3. Warren Merton is repairing damaged grave stones. For example, this stone marks the resting place of Martha Lizzie Hartshorn. As you can see in the first photo, the tablet was sunk far below ground, and had come loose from its base. Using a probe, Warren was able to locate the base (marble, no less) 18” below ground. He retrieved the base and reset the tablet as originally intended.

So many mysteries live at the cemetery. This is the only Hartshorn gravestone at the Village Burial Ground and the Ashland Historical Society has not been able to locate her obituary or death record. The Hartshorn family lived in Ashland in 1860, Cambridge in 1865 and then again in Ashland in 1870. (Credit to Cliff Wilson for research).

12/28/2025

Cemeteries are such important cultural landmarks and resources for any community. Kudos to the MetroWest Boston Visitors Bureau for showcasing local historical cemeteries such as this one in neighboring Holliston.

11/12/2025

This Friday!!

11/14 is the first of six days that Bridgewater State University personnel will be working on the GPR (ground penetrating radar) Survey at the Village Burial Ground. We are very excited, and invite you to come down to observe and ask questions.

INTERESTIGNG - INFORMATIVE - INTERACTIVE!

Stay as long as you would like 9am - 5pm. Please park at the town hall across the street, or at the parking lot across from the library in Front St; the church needs its limited weekday parking spaces.

Bring your own water, chair, and weather-appropriate dress.


Sincerely,
Helen Nickole
Ashland Historical Commission
Village Burial Ground Working Group

10/30/2025

Unfortunately due to weather, the GPR planned for October 31 has now been rescheduled to November 14th. We hope to see you then! (… and have a spooky and safe Halloween!)

10/28/2025

NOVEMBER is the perfect time to visit Ashland's Village Burial Ground!!

From 9-5pm on November 14, Bridgewater State University will be on site starting ground penetrating radar (GPR), looking to identify unmarked graves and buried gravestones.

The public is encouraged to observe, ask questions and engage with the enthusiastic BSU staff during this first of 6 sessions!

Bridgewater State University is providing GPR services at no cost … and we thank them for this tremendous opportunity to gain valuable insight into Ashland’s history. The information they will be able to provide is invaluable to restoration efforts moving forward.

Please join us and show support for this project!

When: 11/14/2025

Time: 9am-5pm

Location: The Village Burial Ground 118R Main Street Ashland, MA (behind the Federated Church)

Ashland Massachusetts
TNT Gravestone Solutions LLC
Federated Church of Ashland
Bridgewater State University
Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis

10/20/2025

Thank you!!!! (Photos and report from
Helen Nickole)

We had a great day clearing brush and roots ( many, many long roots ) from the first grid areas at the Village Burial Ground ( there are six) that Bridgwater State University will be using the GPR on. This is very important for our restoration and to help not only restore our historic site but to acknowledge the many unmarked gravesite’s we know exist. Thank you to all who came today and those who came down yesterday and last week because you couldn’t make it today. We made excellent progress due to your help and community service. Look at how long some of the roots removed today were in the photos below.

10/13/2025

Thanks to project acceptance at Bridgewater State University, Ashland's Village Burial Ground is receiving GPR services free of charge later this month! This is a very valuable, exciting collaboration - and we are so eager to make the most of this opportunity.

CRITICAL!! We need to do additional grounds work, first. Join us this Sunday, October 19th 1-5 and help us get ready!!

10/11/2025

Lots to do today! Check out the Fall Tag Sale and get your pumpkins at Federated Church of Ashland, check out the Diwali celebration at The Corner Spot- Ashland, get some lunch or a snack at one of many great downtown eateries… and come take a quiet walk through Ashland's Village Burial Ground and see all the progress happening!

10/09/2025

Did you know that the pumpkin patch at Federated Church of Ashland next to us supports the Navajo Indian Reservation in Farmington, New Mexico? Open on Indigenous Peoples’ Day (and beyond..)

Come talk a walk through the Ashland's Village Burial Ground this October, and get your pumpkins at the same time :)

Please come and visit our pumpkin patch from October 5th to the 31st

Help support the Federated Church of Ashland as we support pumpkin Sales for the Navajo Indian Reservation in Farmington, NM they grow 1,200 acres or approximately 2 square miles of pumpkins!

All pumpkins are Non-GMO.

10/07/2025

Nellie Gould is upright in her own base, and her father Truman is up next 🙂