GILL —The Riverside Cemetery Association agreed to abandon or sell a historic cemetery on Wednesday night in hopes that the town will step in and take over the maintenance of the property.
With dwindling money and a lack of volunteers, association members gathered at the Montague Public Safety Complex to dissolve their organization. At the annual town meeting on Monday night residents will have the opportunity to vote on the town taking possession of the 4.4 acre property. A date of transaction has not yet been determined.
The association oversaw the cemetery since 1883. In recent years, the organization has experienced a lack of support. “One of the primary reasons is the cultural support of private cemeteries has pretty much disappeared. Different generations are no longer concerned about staying in the same geographic area. As people move away, there are not as many people to volunteer,” association president Robert Perry said at the meeting.
The organization could sell the property on Main and Mountain roads to the town for $1 or they could abandon the property. If and when the town takes of the cemetery, the town’s Cemetery Commission would maintain the grounds.
“There is state law that allows for towns to take over abandoned cemeteries and that’s one of the reasons why that word abandoned showed up in the vote they took,” said Town Administrator Ray Purington. “I don’t think anyone wants an operating, functioning, well run cemetery to suffer from any type of negligence before the town steps in.”
All burial records, maps, crypt keys and deeds to the property would be handed over to the town.
“We are essentially abandoning the property and the town must take it over,” Perry said at the meeting. The association will continue to maintain the property and bury the dead in the days leading up to the annual town meeting.
If the town decides to take over the property, there would be no impact on the taxpayers the first year because the association is prepaying for the caretaking expenses. In future years, the cemetery upkeep could cost average taxpayers $3 to $5, said Town Administrator Ray Purington. The association is also going to be transferring its funds, which will continue to go towards the maintenance of the grounds.
The Riverside Cemetery predates the incorporation of the town in 1793. The earliest graves were marked by fieldstones that have since disappeared.
The earliest remaining gravestone in the cemetery is for Nahum Day, who was buried May 17, 1802. He drowned at age 23 in the Connecticut River near Millers Falls, according to the Gill Historical Commission.
You can reach Lisa Spear at:
lspear@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 280