The Old Burying Yard

Among the many historic sites in York Village, few evoke the passage of time as powerfully as the Old Burying Yard. Established during the second half of the seventeenth century, it is one of the oldest cemeteries in Maine and serves as the final resting place for many of the men, women, and children who built this early colonial community.

Walking among the weathered slate gravestones, visitors encounter a remarkable collection of early New England funerary art. Many of the markers are adorned with carved death’s heads, winged cherubs, and other symbolic images that reflected the beliefs and artistic traditions of colonial America. These stones have endured centuries of harsh New England winters, preserving both the names and the stories of York’s earliest residents.

As York continued to grow, a newer cemetery was established behind the adjacent First Parish Church, but the Old Burying Yard was carefully preserved. Today it remains one of the most important historic landscapes in Maine, offering visitors the opportunity to reflect on the lives, struggles, and resilience of the people who transformed a remote wilderness into one of New England’s earliest permanent communities.

Standing quietly in the heart of York Village, the Old Burying Yard reminds us that history is not only found in homes and public buildings. It is also found in the lives remembered by these weathered stones, each one representing a chapter in the remarkable story of York, Maine.