Quabbin Park Cemetery

Quabbin Park Cemetery is the 82-acre cemetery on the south side of Route 9 in Ware where the state reburied 6,601 graves from the Swift River Valley towns before the reservoir flooded them. The Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission, which built the reservoir, laid it out in 1931–1932. It holds the war memorials of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott, it is open to visitors, and it is still an active cemetery.

In all, 7,613 graves were moved from 34 cemeteries in eight towns. Families decided where their relatives went; most chose this cemetery, and the reburials were free. Graves were laid out in the same arrangement as the original family lots.

How to Find It

The cemetery is on Route 9 in Ware, about two and a half miles east of the main entrance to Quabbin Park (100 Winsor Dam Road). Turn at the green "Quabbin Park Cemetery" sign. The entrance is marked by two stone columns built with stones from the foundation of every church in the valley, with bronze plaques listing every cemetery that was removed.

Why the Graves Were Moved

DCR's cemetery tour notes that by 1930 there were more than twice as many dead people in the valley as living ones. The 1927 law that created the reservoir required every known grave to be dug up and reburied elsewhere. Before anything was moved, the water commission mapped all the known cemeteries on the land it bought, photographed every gravestone and recorded the data. Families with recorded deeds were asked where they wanted their relatives reburied. If they chose Quabbin Park Cemetery, the commission moved the graves into new lots laid out like the old ones, at no charge. Families who owned unused lots in the old cemeteries got lots here.

What to See

• The town memorials. War memorials and markers from Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott were moved here and greet you inside the gate. DCR says they now stand for the four towns themselves.
• Old slate stones. DCR's tour points out 18th-century slate headstones, often carved with designs, likenesses of the dead and long inscriptions, sometimes paired with footstones.
• Sykes "portrait stones." DCR's family guide mentions a local family of carvers whose stones show faces that tell the person's life story.
• Veterans' graves, marked with flag holders. Ware's American Legion Post 123 keeps the flags in place year-round.

DCR has an online guided tour with 27 stops and instructions for using it on your phone while you walk, plus an interactive web app that maps every lot and lets you search burials by name.

Memorial Day at the Cemetery

Memorial Day services are held at Quabbin Park Cemetery on the Sunday before the observed Memorial Day holiday. Along with veterans, the ceremony recognizes the former residents of the Swift River Valley, whose towns were given up for the reservoir.

Finding a Grave

Each lot has a three- or four-digit number: the first one or two digits are the section, the last two the lot. Lot #545 is Lot 45 in Section 5; #1473 is Lot 73 in Section 14. The Quabbin Visitor Center (8:30 am–4:30 pm, Thursday through Tuesday (closed Wednesdays)) gives out lot numbers and gravesite information on request, and DCR keeps the vital records of the four disincorporated towns at the Administration Building in Belchertown. DCR's web app also searches burials moved to cemeteries other than this one.

Rules

• No dogs or other pets.
• No headstone rubbings, except by direct descendants.
• Flower containers may be removed by staff once they become unsightly.
• Planting, fencing, benches, crosses or other structures on a lot need written approval from DCR's Quabbin Regional Director.
• DCR warns that many grave markers are old and extremely fragile.

Can You Still Be Buried Here?

Yes, but only some people. It is an active cemetery, and buying a lot is limited to former residents of the four towns, their direct descendants, and current or former DCR employees.

The towns behind these graves are on the lost towns page; the larger story is in Quabbin history.