Lincoln Cemetery Association
Lincoln, Vermont
What is The Lincoln Cemetery Association?
The Lincoln Cemetery Association is composed of 6 volunteer townsfolk, who take responsibility for the many activities related to the care, maintenance, functioning, and planning for the future of our town cemeteries. These activities include but are not limited to:
- Selling of plot locations and deed recording
- Working with funeral home and vault installer for each burial, including verifying and physically marking plot locations
- Working with stone manufacturers to install gravestones, and again marking locations
- Dealing with grieving families and answering their questions
- Fielding calls and questions from families and genealogists regarding who’s buried where
- Contracting for care and maintenance, including mowing, plowing, tree work etc.
Thanks to these volunteers, a multitude of folks can enjoy the cemeteries in myriad ways.
Lincoln Cemetery background
Cemeteries are places of commemoration where we remember and honor our loved ones. Some Lincoln cemeteries house graves that date back centuries, telling stories of a bygone era and offering a unique perspective of the past. They are outdoor museums, presenting a rich tapestry of our community’s past and providing significant insights into the historical events and people that have shaped our community. Cemeteries also foster a connection to genealogy, ancestry and identity.
Lincoln has seven historical cemeteries of note, but the Maple Cemetery is the only currently active cemetery in town. It is the largest one and fronts the West River Road as one drives into Lincoln Center. It is a longstanding and vital part of the infrastructure of the town and provides safe, dedicated, and protected burial sites for anyone in the community who wishes to purchase a plot. With a view of the mountain and the sound of the river, it has been a place of peace for many who pay their respects to family members, friends, and veterans and seek the graves of significant individuals.
While some children visit Maple Cemetery or walk through it, the annual Lincoln School Memorial Day visit offers the chance to learn or recall where their grandparents, great-grandparents, town luminaries and others have been buried. It is also a chance for them to see the stones, but also learn about those who have fought with the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR markers are placed for all who were in the Civil War), and others who have lived and died here over the last 250 years.
"Campaign by the "Lincoln Cemetery Association Department of deFence” to rehabilitate the historic fence has reached its goal!
The original 1907 wrought iron fence along the road in front of the cemetery dates from the Golden Age of cemetery fencing and has served as a sentinel standing guard to demarcate the cemetery as it has for over a century. It has served as a touch of grandeur and sophistication, elegant and timeless. With its arched gate, it has represented the pride that former townsfolk took in their cemetery.
We are extremely happy and excited to report that funds to repair the fence and salvage the parts that can be saved have now been raised from our local community and other friends. Thanks to all who have insured that this project will come to fruition! In fact, the project has already begun (April 2025), with the removal of most of the fence and the moving of the chain-link portion to the east side boundary.
If you would still like to be a part of this project, please consider contributing whatever you can by donating online with PayPal or credit card or by sending a check made out to the Lincoln Community Trust (the fiscal agent) to:
Lincoln Cemetery Associationc/o Nancy Stevens
198 Landmark Dr.
Lincoln, VT 05443.
The Lincoln Cemetery Association Board Members are:
- Judy Brown, President
- Nancy Stevens, Treasurer
- Mary Lu Harding, Secretary
- Kathleen Kolb
- Mike Harding
- David Wood