Tour of West Cemetery

Walking tour plus stone-cleaning demonstration at the West Cemetery, which was laid out in 1740, when the land was part of East Hartford. It became part of Manchester in 1823, and is our first cemetery. It’s located on Spencer Street near the entrance ramp to I-384, accessible just beyond the I-384 on-ramp, which enters the cemetery’s northwest corner on the right. Park either at the commuter lot, or drive into the cemetery. Gravestone Network founder, Ruth Shapleigh-Brown, says,  “The families buried here have connections and history that go back to our early settlement times and the Revolutionary era. In a listing done by Mrs. Kingsbury in the 1930’s, here are totals of family members buried here: • Forbes, 13, • Bidwell, 13, • Brewer, 11, • Kennedy, 26, • Keeney, 46, • Olcott, 30, • Spencer, 74, • Marsh, 16, • Case, 21, •Hills – the winner with 130.” Co-sponsored by the Historical Societies of East Hartford and Manchester.