Somersworth Cemetery Added To National Historic Register

(Somersworth, NH) - The  New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has announced that the Forest Glade Cemetery in Somersworth has been honored by the United States Secretary of the Interior with placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

Forest Glade was developed as the city's primary public cemetery in 1851, after Somersworth and Rollinsford became separate municipalities. Roads, paths and landscape features wind throughout its 22 acres, making it a notable example of the mid-19th century Rural Cemetery Movement begun at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass.

Forest Glade includes a variety of structures and artifacts that chronicle more than 100 years funerary art. Classical Revival, Eastlake, Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Italianate, Victorian Gothic and Rustic styles are all represented among the headstones, obelisks, monuments, tombs, mausoleums and well houses.

Administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation and is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect our historic and archaeological resources.

Listing to the National Register does not impose any new or additional restrictions or limitations on the use of private or non-federal properties. Listings identify historically significant properties and can serve as education tools and increase heritage tourism opportunities. The rehabilitation of National Register-listed commercial or industrial buildings may qualify for certain federal tax provisions.

In New Hampshire, listing to the National Register makes applicable property owners eligible for grants such as the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program or LCHIP (lchip.org) and the Conservation License Plate Program (nh.gov/nhdhr/grants/moose).