Westview Cemetery Burnham Road

When the Old Hudson Center Cemetery, located on the Common, became nearly covered with graves, the need for additional  cemetery  space in that part of town became apparent.  The Hudson Center Cemetery Association published their intentions on the Oasis, a newspaper published in Nashua for three weeks in a row, in accordance with the laws of the State of New Hampshire.  An initial meeting was held at the town house in Hudson Center, now Wattannick Hall, on December 4, 1849.  At this meeting a set of by-laws and a slate of officers were elected.  Elected as Directors were Jefferson Smith, Joseph Dane, James Smith, 2nd, Dustin B. Smith, and Daniel W. Robinson,  Eli Hamblet was elected Clerk and Amory Burnham as Treasurer.

The initial acreage for the cemetery was donated by Reuben Greeley.  This parcel is located to the right as you enter the cemetery gate from Burnham Road.  The cemetery was laid out into large lots, most of which would allow for 12 burials so as to accommodate large families and multiple generations.  Between each lot space was allocated for walkways.  The layout also included streets wide enough so that  horse and wagons, and  later vehicles could enter the cemetery.  All of this was located less than one half mile from Hudson Center.

After the Nashua and Rochester Railroad was constructed, a substantial addition of land was made to the cemetery.  All the land between the initial parcel and the southerly line of the railroad land was acquired, making a total of nearly three acres.  After the railroad ceased to operate, the cemetery purchased  the right of way from the railroad.  This right of way is clearly visible today and is used as a short cut from Burnham Road to Hudson Center.

So as not to confuse this new cemetery with the Old Hudson Center Cemetery it was called Clement Cemetery.  I am not sure why this name was associated with this yard; but, it is often referred as such in the old records.  The name Westview has since been adopted and it is known by that name today.

Within this cemetery one will find the final resting place for many Hudson families of the last 167 years.  One will also find a number of lots with beautiful and expensive monuments; as well many of the more common markings.  Records of the cemetery also indicate burials in some of the lots where no visual monuments were placed by the surviving families.  But, thankfully, knowledge of their burials has been preserved by the written records.

I find the most elaborate monuments within Westview to be along the back wall of the old section.  These belong to the families of Dr. David O. Smith, Dr. Henry O. Smith, and the Haselton family from Bush Hill.  The oldest burial is that of Betsey Beard who died June 1850 at the age of 80.

The most  interesting burial site is the unmarked grave of Rev. Benjamin Dean, a minister serving the Baptist Church from April 1828 to June 1830; at which time he left the ministry but remained a resident of Hudson Center and continued to live in  his home on Hamblet Avenue.  When he passed in 1856 he was buried in the Potters Field section of the cemetery.  Many years later when additional lots were laid out, the Potters Field and his burial site was included within one of the new lots.  But, the location of Rev. Dean’s burial site has not been lost to history.  It remains unmarked; but, has been included within the written record of this newer lot.

The photo showing the entrance to Westview Cemetery at 20 Burnam Road was taken by the author and is a part of the Historical Society Collection.