Wilbraham was home to at least two known private family cemeteries. In the late 18th century, three primary types of burial sites were common: land adjoining a church (often referred to as the “churchyard” or occasionally as a cemetery or burial ground), private family plots located on a family’s property (referred to as “burying grounds”), and public spaces unaffiliated with any specific denomination. These public spaces, though also sometimes called “burying grounds,” were most often labeled as cemeteries.
In Wilbraham, family burying grounds seem to have been less prevalent. Observing the layout of the town’s cemeteries suggests that families generally preferred designated cemeteries as the final resting places for their loved ones.
One of the known family burying grounds is the Langdon Cemetery, located on the Langdon farm near what is now 199 Stony Hill Road. The farm remained in the Langdon family for several generations. The cemetery itself was situated at the rear of the property, just south of a stream. Approximately a dozen members of the Langdon family were interred there, with headstones marking their graves. Additionally, three or four hired men were also buried at the site. However, it is unclear if their graves were marked, as hired help in those days was often not afforded such recognition.
Lieutenant Paul Langdon was one of Wilbraham's early pioneers and the first of the Langdon family to settle in the area. Born in Boston on September 12, 1693, he moved with his wife, Mary, to the Outward Commons (now Wilbraham) in the early 1740s. They established their home just south of the Bay Path, near what is now Stony Hill Road. Together, Paul and Mary raised seven children.
Lt. Langdon was a skilled carpenter, millwright, and farmer. His farm thrived, and he was noted for owning a remarkable wagon—the only one in the precinct at the time. This wagon became a community asset, as Lt. Langdon often used it to transport his family and neighbors to church.
He passed away on December 3, 1761, at the age of 68. His wife Mary outlived him, passing on May 7, 1777, at the age of 88. Their contributions and legacy as part of Wilbraham’s early history remain significant.
In 1889, Jim McDonald purchased the Langdon farm from Minerva Langdon Streeter, the great-granddaughter of Lt. Paul Langdon. At that time, the original Langdon farmhouse had fallen into disrepair. To address this, McDonald acquired the old Langdon schoolhouse, built in the 1820s, from the town.
The schoolhouse was situated between the dilapidated farmhouse and the Langdon family's burying ground. Local lore suggests that during its operation, the schoolteacher would often lead the children to the burying ground to sing hymns at burial ceremonies.
After purchasing the schoolhouse, McDonald moved it slightly south and converted it into a residence. The house, located at 215 Stony Hill Road, still stands today as a testament to this innovative reuse of the historic structure.
Shortly after moving the schoolhouse, Jim McDonald decided not to let the relatively flat land around the site go to waste. He cleared the area by cutting trees, removing brush, and—controversially—relocating all the graves from the Langdon family burying ground. It was said that the gravestones and remains were moved to the old cemetery near the church in Ludlow Center. However, research reveals no Langdons are buried there.
A more plausible explanation is that the graves were moved to the Old Hampden Cemetery on Chapin Road in Hampden. This theory aligns with historical context, as Hampden was once part of Wilbraham and was home to other Langdon family members. Wilbraham's vital death records list many Langdons without specified burial locations. Furthermore, many of the oldest gravestones in the Old Hampden Cemetery have deteriorated or disappeared over time, which might explain the absence of clear evidence.
Local lore adds a touch of drama to McDonald’s decision. His wife was deeply displeased, citing an old Irish superstition that disturbing a graveyard would bring bad luck. Her fears seemed justified: though McDonald removed the headstones and remains, he didn’t completely fill in the graves, which could still be seen as late as 1962.
McDonald repurposed the former burying ground, building a henhouse with a spacious yard for the chickens to roam. But soon after, the chickens began dying at an alarming rate. His wife took this as a sign of the bad luck she had warned about and pleaded with him to move the chickens elsewhere. He refused, but the deaths continued.
One night, taking matters into her own hands, Mrs. McDonald relocated five or six hundred chickens to the sheep pens at the end of the large barn. Remarkably, the deaths stopped immediately. It seemed her belief in the curse was vindicated, leaving a legacy of eerie superstition tied to the old Langdon burying ground.
The second known burying ground in Wilbraham was the Stevens Cemetery, located at what is now 1984 Boston Road. This small family cemetery originally fronted Dumaine Street, which served as the Boston Post Road before 1895 when the new Boston Road was relocated to its current alignment. The cemetery measured approximately 65 feet wide and 75 feet deep.
It is believed that around two dozen graves with headstones belonging to the Stevens family were located at this site. According to local accounts, the first burial was that of Roswell Parmele Stevens, a 23-year-old who tragically died on August 10, 1840. He reportedly fell across the railroad tracks and was struck and killed by a passing train. The accident occurred near the town’s first railroad station, which was located on Old Boston Road, across from the current junction with River Road.
In 1912, Pasquale Tebaldi purchased the triangular parcel of land where the Stevens Cemetery once stood. By 1929, the cemetery had disappeared, and the whereabouts of the remains and headstones remain a mystery. A 1962 investigation revealed no trace of the cemetery. However, a man claimed to have personally exhumed the remains and moved them to another cemetery, though he could not recall which one.
Rumors persist that while the gravestones were removed, they were secretly buried in the town dump, which was then located across the street and slightly west along Boston Road. As for the human remains, it is speculated they were left undisturbed on-site, never to be discovered. These rumors gain credence from the lack of records at any nearby cemetery confirming the reburial of the stones or remains.
In 1932, a restaurant called The Windmill was built on the site of the former Stevens Cemetery. Operated by the Miller Dairy of Ludlow, Massachusetts, the restaurant offered both indoor dining and car service, where roller-skating carhops took and delivered orders. However, the restaurant gained notoriety for its disposal practices—its food waste was dumped onto Dumaine Street, where it flowed toward Stony Hill Road. Local children reportedly delighted in watching the rats gather to feed on the scraps.
The Windmill was demolished in 1956, leaving behind a curious and eerie chapter in the history of the land once occupied by the Stevens Cemetery.
An intriguing story, recounted to Charlie Merrick by an old friend in 1962, goes like this:
"There was a flat field between River Road and the Chicopee River, just north of Old Boston Road, where we kids used to play baseball in the evenings. We needed a good home plate, so one night after dark, we snuck into the Stevens Cemetery and swiped part of a white broken headstone. We brought it back and set it up as home plate—it was just right.
The next evening, we started our game. The first batter stepped up to the plate and gave it a few raps with his bat. That’s when he noticed some lettering on the stone. He stopped to read it. The inscription said:
'My cup is run and yours is running; Prepare for death for judgment's coming.'
Well, that was the end of the ball game! He dropped the bat and ran like blazes for home. Boy, oh boy!"
And as the storyteller would say, "Oh boy, indeed."
Today, the Town of Wilbraham has four cemeteries, three of which are owned by the town, with one privately owned. The oldest is Adams Cemetery, located on Tinkham Road. For more history about this cemetery, click here.
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