Castine Town Cemetery

Castine Town Cemetery

  • <p>Modern photograph of the Castine Town Cemetery- Collection of the Wilson Museum</p>
  • <p>Photograph of a military remembrance service in the cemetery, c. early 20th century-Collection of the Castine Historical Society</p>
  • <p>Photograph of a Castine cemetery plot map, c. late 19th century-Collection of the Castine Historical Society</p>
  • <p>Photograph of the modern layout of the Castine cemetery, Sections A-L, 2003-Collection of the Wilson Museum </p>

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Castine may boast one of the oldest European settlements in New England, but its town cemetery was not created until 1807. That year the town voted to purchase one acre of land from Captain Mark Hatch. The cemetery has been expanded multiple times throughout the last two centuries. It has been maintained by a variety of institutions such as Castine Cemetery Association, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Boy and Girl Scouts of America.

Several famous former Castine residents are buried in the town cemetery. One can find the graves of novelist Mary McCarthy, poet Philip Booth, journalist Noah Brooks, U.S. Representative Hezekiah Williams, Civil War Colonel Charles Tilden, and many members of Castine’s founding families. Two American Revolutionary War soldiers are also buried in the cemetery.

Today the Town of Castine maintains the cemetery, through the Cemetery Association. The Wilson Museum has undertaken a project to survey all the local burial grounds in Castine, and the results are available at www.wilsonmuseum.org.