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Grove Street Cemetery
Located within the very heart of Yale country in New Haven
is the historically significant Grove Street Cemetery. Boasting not only beauty and gargantuan size, this final resting
place is also home to many famous people, including Noah Webster (1758-1843) lexicographer and publisher of his Dictionary,
Lyman Beecher (1775-1863) clergyman, abolitionist, and father of Harriet Beecher Stowe (author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin") Rear
Admiral Andrew Hull Foote (1806-1863) responsible for breaking the Confederate blockade of Vicksburg, Mississippi, Charles
Goodyear (1800-1860) inventor of vulcanized rubber, and Eli Whitney (1765-1825) inventor of the Cotton Gin and the system
of standardized and interchangeable gun parts. The very first person interred in this cemetery was Martha Townsend (1753-1797)
although much older headstones decorate the walls surrounding this huge cemetery. Stories have arisen of the voices
of laughing children permeating the cemetery, as well as the sounds of footsteps following you when no one is there.
One source explains that a woman was murdered at the grave of a person named Atwater and that this victim's spirit can sometimes
be seen gliding amongst the stones.
The History
The story of Grove Street Cemetery actually begins at a
time pre-dating the establishment of the cemetery itself. For the first 160 years of New Haven's history, the dead were
laid to rest in a common burying ground beneath and behind what is now Center Church on the Green. As the yellow fever
outbreaks occurred in 1794 and '95, James Hillhouse offered the idea of a new public burying ground for the city.
The site chosen was the present-day Grove Street Cemetery.
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| Perhaps this inscription is more than just an inscription . . . |
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| Beneath the Egyptian-style monument and into the cemetery |
In July of 1845, the completion of the Egyptian Revival front gate
and its surrounding walls took place, as the wooden fence that had previously rimmed the property possessed a proclivity to
rot. Later, a resolution for the removal of stones from the original burying ground on the Green passed, allowing the
colonial period monuments to be placed in alphabetical order along the north and west walls.
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| These are the oldest stones in the cemetery |
The Investigation
GHOST members arrived
at Grove Street Cemetery after an exhaustive search throughout North Haven. Some sources had placed this cemetery in
North Haven instead of New Haven; however, we persevered and managed to locate this very large burying ground.
The site is truly impressive and is a must-see locale. The history
here is deeply embedded in Connecticut's roots and the city structures surrounding the graveyard are just as impressive as
the myriad of differently styled funerary art that is displayed throughout the cemetery. It is recommended that you
ask for a map of the grounds at the front office in order to help you along the tour.
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| City scapes beyond the walls |
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| Castles of New Haven |
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| More castles |
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| Outside the walls |
Armed with our equipment and a thirst for knowledge, our team fanned
out over the broad avenues, feeling almost as if we were strolling along the lanes of Central Park. The cemetery is
very beautiful and full of some of the most unique funerary artwork you will ever see.
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| The Trowbridge Monument |
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| Trowbridge Angel close-up |
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| The Rossiter burial mound |
It took nearly two hours to walk around this cemetery, which is the
equivalent of four city blocks in each direction. The place is so big that personal Saturday tours are available at
the front caretaker's house. We discovered an Atwater stone, but soon found that there were nine Atwater headstones
in the cemetery (making it difficult to pinpoint the location of the supposed murder . . . which, by the way, was not able
to be corroborated through newspaper or government files).
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| Was a murder committed in this spot? |
EMF readings were static and unreliable in most of the burial ground
due to the proximity of many sources of power. However, within a narrow strip of the cemetery, there was no activity
and we followed it nearly to the eastern wall where we had spikes of activity near the headstone of Captain William Fairchild
and his wife. The activity was fluid and seemed to move about the headstones, but never appeared to travel beyond the
confines of the stones. There appeared no overhead lines and the meter close to the ground produced no significant changes,
therefore, we assumed that this was not interference.
We wrapped up and departed the cemetery. On the way out, we passed
many more beautifully crafted monuments. The simplest ones, however, were the most beautiful. We located another
stone similar to a small stone at Downs Street Cemetery in Bristol where a nearby tree had opted to "embrace" the little grave
marker.
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| Swallowed by the tree . . . part two! |
There was a ghost that we did, in fact, locate, but it was off the
grounds of the cemetery and . . . well, see for yourself.
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| Sticker on the back of a parking meter |
Conclusion
While the Grove Street Cemetery was impressive, it did not bear the
appearance of a place very haunted. We snapped hundreds of photos, shot video, and swept the area with EMF without definitive
evidence, nor any clear indication of paranormal activity outside of a small EMF fluctuation. Creepy
Connecticut, regardless, insists that any group interested in funerary art and impressive features visit
this locale. It is worth the trip.
GOOSEBUMP FACTOR: 0
Barry A. A. Dillinger
August 22nd, 2006
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