- Valley Cemetery
Infobox nrhp
name = Valley Cemetery
nrhp_type =
caption =
location =Pine and Auburn StsManchester, New Hampshire
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 42
lat_minutes = 58
lat_seconds = 59.56
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 71
long_minutes = 27
long_seconds = 36.42
long_direction = W
locmapin = New Hampshire
area =
built =
architect =
architecture =
added =September 10 ,2004
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 04000964
mpsub =
governing_body = The Valley Cemetery (or the Valley Street Cemetery) is a publiccemetery located inManchester, New Hampshire , USA. It is bounded on the east by Pine Street, on the north by Auburn Street, on the west by Willow Street, and on the south by Valley Street, from which it derives its name.It came into existence in 1840, when the
Amoskeag Manufacturing Company donated 20 acres of land in downtown Manchester to the city for the purpose of creating a public burial ground.In 1841, the city created the Valley Street Cemetery. It was designed as a "garden cemetery", meant to be a place where the public could stroll along its walkways, carriage paths and bridges. In this
Victorian Era , "garden cemeteries", in which not only the dead resided, but the living communed with each other and with nature, were popular.By the late 1850s, the cemetery was nearly filled, and the much larger
Pine Grove Cemetery was created. That cemetery lies to the west of Calef Road and to the east of theMerrimack River .A receiving tomb was built at Valley Cemetery in 1888, used to store the deceased during winter when the ground was frozen. In 1907, Mrs.
Hannah Currier donated gates at Auburn and Chestnut Streets in honor of her late husband,New Hampshire GovernorMoody Currier .A chapel in the English Gothic style was completed in 1932, replacing a wooden chapel that stood at the same site. The stone structure is now in bad repair and has been closed for many years. There are 13 private mausoleums in the cemetery.
Prominent burials
Many of the city's leaders have been buried at Valley Cemetery, including:
*Manchester Mayors Jacob F. James, Warren L. Lane, Alonzo Smith, David A. Bunton, Darwin J. Daniels, Joseph B. Clark, David B. Varney and William C. Clarke * [http://www.manchesternh.gov/CityGov/PKS/Cemeteries/ValleyStreet.html]
*Governor Frederick Smyth (1819 - 1899)- whose imposing tomb is one of the jewels of the cemetery
*GovernorMoody Currier (1806 - 1898
*Congressman [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000020 Ira Allen Eastman] (1809 - 1881)
*Senator Daniel Clark (1809 - 1891)
*Anti-Slavery campaigner Rev.Andrew Foss
*Aretas Blood (1816 - 1897) - owner of theAmoskeag Locomotive Works , and his wifeLavinia Kendall Blood , founder of theManchester Women's Aid and Relief Society in 1875
*Gov.Ezekiel A. Straw (1819 - 1882) - an engineer for theAmoskeag Manufacturing Company who laid out the street grid for the city of Manchester
*Brigadier general Joseph Carter Abbott - A Union veteran of theAmerican Civil War who remained in theAmerican South following the war and was active in local politics there. He was elected as the Republican Governor ofNorth Carolina .Restoration efforts
By the end of the 20th century, the cemetery was recognized by many to be in serious decline, and its heritage as a garden cemetery had long since been forgotten by most.
In 2002, the interest of
Southern New Hampshire University 's Education Continuum spurred the creation of [http://www.valley-cemetery.com Friends of the Valley Cemetery] , a non-profit community organization dedicated to raising funds for, and overseeing the future restoration of, the cemetery.The group has partnered with city officials to coordinate maintenance efforts and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for future restoration. A master plan has been written that will guide future restoration of the cemetery.
The Currier Gate was restored in 2004.
Since 2003, Friends of the Valley Cemetery has hosted an annual
strawberry festival in the cemetery, emphasizing its previous heritage as a "garden cemetery" that exists to be enjoyed by residents.External links
* [http://www.valley-cemetery.com Friends of the Valley Cemetery]
* [http://www.manchesternh.gov/CityGov/PKS/Cemeteries/ValleyStreet.html Manchester, New Hampshire city government page on Valley Street Cemetery]
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