Milford Cemetery, located in Milford, Connecticut is one of the oldest colonial cemeteries in the United States dating back to the mid 1600s. Looking around you see a wide array of types of gravestones, reflecting the many years of burials that have taken place here.
The first person buried there was actually an infant, the son of William East in 1644. The graveyard contains the remains of many politicians and historical figures, including three governors of the State of Connecticut. And although there are many prominent figures who have been laid to rest here, there are also a lot of people who lived and died in the local area.
In 1792, 24 year old Mary Fowler passed away and was buried here. Her epitaph is famous among the locals:
Molly tho pleasant in her day
Was suddenly seized and sent away
How soon she’s ripe how soon she’s rotten
Sent to her grave and soon forgotten
Milford Cemetery also contains a monument honoring 46 revolutionary war soldiers who were left on our shores from a British prison ship in 1777 and Captain Stephen Stow who passed away as he was trying to save their lives.
A more modern internment belongs to Simon Lake, he died in 1945 after obtaining over 200 naval patents and is famous for competing with John Phillip Holland to build the first submarine in the United States.
This is the grave of Nathaniel A. Baldwin, located in the Milford Cemetery in Connecticut, one of the oldest colonial graveyards in the United States. Baldwin passed away at the age of 74 in 1898. His gravesite is striking and dramatic, a sculpture of a weeping woman encased in a clear box, with busts at all four corners, each with a different word of inspiration. Faith, Hope, Charity, and Love.
This cemetery is believed to be haunted. Many visitors and locals have reported seeing a woman in white walk among the graves after nightfall.
It is no surprise that a cemetery with such a long history has inspired tales of hauntings and ghostly specters.
Milford Cemetery is still an active burial ground within a thriving community.
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