Front of Old Burying Ground.
WESTFIELD—The city’s Old Burying Ground will be opening its wrought-iron gates for visitors this Saturday.
The gates, which are normally shackled shut due to vandalism, will be opened to allow visitors to explore the grounds and learn a bit of history about the city during Open Gate Day, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is being held by the Westfield Historical Commission, and will include some Munger Hill School fifth graders acting as past citizens who were buried in the Old Burying Grounds.
“Our goal is to educate people about what’s in there so we don’t have to lock it,” Cindy Gaylord, chairperson of Westfield Historical Commission and fifth grade teacher at Munger Hill, said.
Lock on the front of the gate.
“The fifth graders are portraying 25 different people there, and as people walk through the students will tell the stories of who they’re portraying,” she added.
The students are part of Gaylord’s fifth grade class, and this event is part of the school’s Colonial Westfield Day, Wednesday, June 15.
Those being portrayed include Revolutionary War General William Shepard, colonial America poet Reverend Edward Taylor, and local former centenarian Hannah Noble.
The Old Burying Ground is the oldest cemetery in Westfield, with headstones dating as far back as 1683. And at one point, the site had over 1,600 tombstones, but due to weather and theft the site is now down to about 1,100, according to Gaylord.
Gaylord said that other members of the Historical Commission will also be on hand to give tours and additional information.
“It’s such a beautiful sight that people right here in our town just aren’t aware of and we want people to come and enjoy it as much as we do,” Gaylord said.
