1. MAUSOLEUM/CRYPT/TOMB

Historically,  the word mausoleum was named after King Mausolus, a ruler of Asia Minor who died in 353 BC. This tomb, dated 1903, is presumed to have been moved circa 1933. We do not know where its original location in the cemetery was. It was probably originally used as a temporary resting place for those who died during the winter months and were awaiting a spring burial. It is now used to store lawn equipment.

 

2. ORIGINAL FRONT OF THE CEMETERY

As you stand to the back corner of the cemetery in the wooded area to the west and look east into the cemetery, you are looking at the original front entrance. Notice the stones with inscriptions facing you now. These are the oldest gravestones in the cemetery. A granite wall runs along the western original front. There are three breaks in the wall. One entrance is flanked by taller granite posts. The other two entrances have iron gates. One appears to be in disrepair. Is this the original gate? Where was the original path/road leading into the cemetery?

3. LAMSON

The first stones seen when entering the cemetery from the original entrance are the Lamson family stones.  Three of the white marble stones are standing and one has fallen. Lamson’s name appears on the original deed of the cemetery land.

4. OLD TOMBSTONE CARVINGS/THE SLEEPING LAMBS

There are many meanings behind the carvings on tombstones. Ivy signifies friendship and immortality, trees stand for life and the sleeping lambs mean innocence. The sleeping lambs on top of the double stone before you are the most common 19th century symbol for child death and  tell us that the people buried here were very young when they died.

 

5. COTTON

This large granite monument has steps leading to it and indicates that its owner was probably quite well-to-do. This stone is not in the original section of the cemetery. Henry B. Cotton was the owner of Cotton’s Mill which was located on the site between Pine Tree School and Conway Lake.  The mill made pianoforte boxes.  He is credited with helping to make Conway Centre prosperous.

6. STARK

General Samuel Stark was a veteran of the War of 1812. This stark white stone is not in the original section of the cemetery. In fact all of the stones around this one are from a much later time which leads one to wonder if the body of General Stark could have been moved from another location. Several bodies were relocated to the Center Conway Cemetery when a road was built through what is now Meeting House Hill, site of the police station.

7. ODELL

The Odell plot is large. All eight headstones with accompanying footstones are inscribed, except for one granite fieldstone. Joseph Odell, who was an original proprietor and Revolutionary War veteran is said to be buried in this cemetery in a grave with an unmarked granite stone. Could this be his? If so, he died in March of 1802 and this would make his stone older than Sarah Porter’s.

8. JUDGE JOEL EASTMAN

Joel Eastman’s  grave is located in the Odell plot because he was married to Joseph Odell’s great granddaughter, Ruth Odell. Judge Joel Eastman is notable because he was one of the owners of the Eastman Toll Bridge, (built in 1846), which spanned the Saco River in Center Conway. The bridge was burned down by vandals in 1975.

9. UNMARKED STONES

In this section of the cemetery are 9 unmarked fieldstones of different sizes. Some of the stones are in a row and others are oddly spaced. Some local residents claim that these poor souls were some of the original settlers of Conway who were the victims of a Native American Indian attack. No record of an attack exists to date. Native Americans left Conway and headed for St. Francis in Canada sometime around 1725.

 

10. THE OLDEST MARKED STONE 1810

The gravestone of Sarah Porter, wife of the Reverend Nathaniel Porter, is the oldest marked stone in the cemetery. Rev. Nathaniel Porter was the first settled pastor of the first church in Conway. He served as a chaplain in the Massachusetts Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He is one of the founders of Fryeburg Academy.

11. DAVIS FAMILY

This trio of slate stones are some of the oldest in the cemetery as they are facing the original front and have some of the oldest dates of death. Note what good condition these slate stones are in

compared to some of their granite and marble contemporaries.

 

12. SINCLAIR

This family plot contains seven marble stones and a Knights of Pythias marker.  The Knights of Pythias is an international fraternity that promotes friendship among men and to relieve suffering. As local legend has it, one of the Sinclairs was a stagecoach driver. The large white building on the northwestern corner of Mill Street was once a stagecoach inn.

13. FARRINGTON

Jeremiah Farrington’s gravestone is the only slate stone standing in a group of three. He is one of the original proprietors buried in Center Conway Cemetery. The land was given to him by King George the 3rd under the condition that for every fifty acres in his share, each grantee was required to plant and cultivate five acres of land within the term of five years, give one ear of corn every ten tears and provide masts for the King’s ships.

14. BURBANK/GAR MARKER

Captain William Burbank has a slate stone with a weeping willow etched on it. The weeping willow is the emblem for sorrow. Captain Burbank is not in the oldest section of the cemetery. He died in 1851, yet he has a GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) marker on his grave. This is interesting since the GAR is a Civil War veterans organization formed after the Civil War of 1865.  Burbank could not have been in the Civil War as his death predates it. Could he have been a veteran of the War of 1812?

15. HOWARD FAMILY

Three members of the Howard family are buried here. Unmarked fieldstones mark their original resting places. A newer stone was erected in their memory. Each of the three were veterans of significant wars. Samuel Howard was a Private in the New Hampshire Continental Line and he was present at the Boston Tea Party. He also was a pensioner who received a pension from his service in the war. Iron war markers also decorate their graves.

16. PAUPERS GRAVES

This area to the back southeast corner of the cemetery is completely unmarked. There is no way to know who or where the people in this section of the cemetery are buried. This part of the cemetery was for those who were too poor to afford a proper burial, or had no family to take care of the expenses.

17. STARK

The final resting place of Captain Jonathan Stark can be found near the only white birches in the cemetery. His stone has fallen and broken.  He was born in 1761 and died in 1830, yet he has a World War Two Iron grave marker. Which war do you think he could have been a veteran of?

18. Quest Box

Congratulations on completing the Center Conway Cemetery Quest. Be sure to log your visit in our notebook and stamp your logbook if you have one.

 

This quest was created as an interpretive tool to educate visitors and celebrate this special place in our community. For more information on similar quests, visit www.vitalcommunities.org.

 

This quest was created and is maintained by

 Grade 4 at Pine Tree School, Center Conway.

Please respect their hard work by returning this cache and its contents just as you found them.