A Brief History of the Brigham Street Old Burial Ground

A Brief History of the Brigham Street Old Burial Ground. . Land for this burial site was set aside sometime between 1724 and 1729, at the request of Westborough's northern proprietors. At the time, the closest burial ground was located several miles south, in Westborough's town center. The first documented burial in the Brigham Street Old Burial Ground was for a proprietor's son, William Holloway Jr., in January of 1727. , In 1744, the Second Precinct of Westborough was formed after the northern proprietors petitioned for self-governance. In 1749, the Brigham Street Old Burial Ground closed, when a meetinghouse and new burial ground were built on Howard Street, in what is now Northborough. , Five headstones remain standing at the Brigham Street Old Burial Ground; many burials are visible, as evidenced by “wolf stones” – stones laid over the burial site to prevent animals from uncovering the body – and mounded or depressed plots. , The original cemetery road, four granite. corner boundary markers, and the rock used for dismounting from carriages are intact. , In 2017, ground penetrating radar. identified burial locations and revealed that the majority are in the southwest section.