Our Property

Our property includes two distinct spaces: the Village Cemetery itself, with its historic monuments and peaceful pathways, and Ram Pasture, a serene open field that serves as a graceful entrance to Newtown.

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The Village Cemetery

Our Story Begins in 1709

When the proprietors of Newtown first laid out the new village in 1709, they set aside a 1.5-acre plot in the southwest corner for use as a burying ground. That small parcel is the oldest section of our cemetery today, and some of Newtown's earliest burials can still be found there.

By the early 1800s, the original ground had filled, and families began burying loved ones to the north and west, farther up the hill. Managing this growth required a more formal structure, and in 1860 the Newtown Village Cemetery Association was incorporated. The Association has owned and cared for the property ever since.

Cemetery Features

Please reach out with any specific requests, and we will try to accommodate if possible.

Cremation Burials

Our beautiful cremation garden at the top of the hill.

Columbarium Coming Soon

Please let us know if your family is interested in purchasing a columbarium niche.

Our gates remain open for easy access.

Walk With Us

The Newtown Village cemetery grounds are open during the daytime for families to visit and pay their respects. We also welcome casual visitors to walk the property.

Historical Monuments

Many of Newtown’s earliest and well-known settlers are buried in the NVC. Here’s a few notables.

Mary Hawley

Mary Elizabeth Hawley, Newtown's "beloved benefactress," used her inheritance to fund Edmond Town Hall, Hawley School, the Cyrenius H. Booth Library, and more. Her legacy endures through the annual Mary Hawley Public Service Award.

Robert Nelson Peck

Robert Nelson Peck balanced a corporate career with Stanley Rule & Level Company with managing a peach orchard on Mt. Pleasant. He and Helen descend from Joseph Peck, Newtown's Town Clerk in the 1720s, commemorated in Peck's Lane.

A.F. Clarke

Abel French Clarke, known as "Abe," rose from clerk to co-owner of W.B. Glover & Son in Sandy Hook. He was closely tied to the Glover family personally, having married Florence Glover, daughter of banker Henry Beers Glover.

Scudder Smith

Robert Scudder Smith was the iconic publisher of The Newtown Bee and founder of Antiques and The Arts Weekly in 1963. A Newtown Village Cemetery Association board member, he is buried there near his parents and infant granddaughter.

Alfred Briscoe

Alfred Jefferson Briscoe, known as Jeff, spent his early years in farm service before settling in Newtown as a fixture at the Grand Central Hotel and member of the Newtown Hook and Ladder Company. Alfred Briscoe passed away in 1898.

Cyrenius H. Booth

Born in 1797, Cyrenius H. Booth practiced medicine in Newtown from 1820 until his death in 1871. The library bearing his name was a posthumous gift from granddaughter Mary Hawley, who left her fortune to transform the town.

Glover Family

The Glovers were one of Newtown's most prominent civic families, with Walter serving as Fire Chief and Selectman, and his children Lee and Joan holding leadership roles in town. Several family members are buried here at NVC.

Charles Peck

Charles Peck is buried alongside his wife Freelove, who died in 1835 at 31. Their son Charles Henry, born two months after his father's death, rose to become a prominent Newtown merchant celebrated for crafting custom horse harnesses.

Ram Pasture

A Town Common, a Family Legacy, and a Peaceful Welcome

The open green field that greets visitors at the entrance to Newtown Village Cemetery is Ram Pasture. The land was originally part of the town common. After 1750, it was divided among several men who had provided special services to the town, including the first physician.

In 1920, Mary Hawley began quietly buying up pieces of the original common. Two of her ancestors — Cyrenius H. Booth and Judge William Edmond — had already acquired two-thirds of it, and those parcels she inherited. By 1926, she had assumed the full 12 acres.

Inspired by the one at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, Mary had envisioned a rose garden in Ram Pasture, though she died before that plan came to fruition. Today, it serves as a serene and welcoming entrance to the cemetery, a quiet green space with deep roots in Newtown's past.