Old First Parish Burying Ground

Old First Parish Burying Ground was established in 1730 and is located behind Front Beach in Rockport. The inactive cemetery holds 650 graves of colonial settlers alongside officers and soldiers of the French, Indian, and Revolutionary Wars as well as the War of 1812. Many family members of Rockport’s earliest settlers are buried in the cemetery, including the Tarrs, Pools, and Hales. Old First Parish is considered a historical cemetery and open-air museum, a public open space and critical place for respite and reflection. The cemetery is planted with an eroded grass lawn and a border of aging oak, crabapple, and hawthorn trees.¹

Old First Parish is located in the center of Rockport. Rockport residents use it as a shortcut year-round and tourists visit in the summer. The burial ground is adjacent to Mill Pond and Mill Brook Meadow Park, a popular recreation area. Mill Pond was dammed in 1701 and has undergone rehabilitation work to reduce the risk of flooding after a portion of the dam gave way in 2006.²

During the Great Storm, the special flood hazard area around Mill Pond will be inundated from Mill Brook overflowing, which in turn will exacerbate erosion over the lawn in the cemetery and Mill Brook Meadow Park. Waves crashing against Front Beach will send salt spray over the cemetery lawn, stressing the vegetation for months to come. The utility pole attached to the granite retaining wall will be damaged, straining the wall, and the older trees around the border are likely to become unrooted in high winds.