Grove Street Cemetery
Grove Street Cemetery, located in New Haven, Connecticut, is one of the oldest and most significant cemeteries in the United States. It was established in 1797 and is recognized as one of the first landscaped cemeteries in the country. The cemetery’s design follows the style of a rural garden cemetery, featuring meandering paths, well-grown trees, and carefully planned landscaping.
The Gothic Revival front gate of Grove Street Cemetery is a remarkable example of 19th-century cemetery entrances that serves both practical and symbolic purposes. Constructed mainly of iron, it features intricate detailing and scrollwork. The gate marks the entrance to the cemetery and represents the boundary between the living and the dead. Its Gothic Revival style conveys themes of mortality, spirituality, and the passage of time, adding to the solemn atmosphere of the cemetery.
Many notable people are buried in the Grove Street Cemetery, including Noah Webster, the lexicographer and author of the first American dictionary; Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin and pioneer of interchangeable parts manufacturing; Roger Sherman, Founding Father, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Josiah Willard Gibbs, renowned physicist and chemist; Walter Camp, who is known as the “Father of American Football” for his role in shaping the modern game and Bart Giamatti, a former commissioner of Major League Baseball and also served as the President of Yale University..
Grove Street Cemetery has monuments and mausoleums that reflect the changing tastes and cultural influences of different time periods, featuring a variety of architectural styles such as Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and Victorian-era funerary architecture. The cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is considered a National Historic Landmark.
A self-guided touring map is available from the cemetery office, daily 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Free one-hour walking tours sponsored by the Friends of the Grove Street Cemetery take place May-November, Saturday 11 a.m.; Sunday noon. Meet at the cemetery’s chapel building immediately inside the Egyptian Revival gates on Grove at High St.
227 Grove St, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
203-787-1443
