Entrance to Adams Cemetery, Tinkham Rd., Wilbraham, MA
Established 1741

Originally called the "Burying Yard". It was established when the bounds of the cemetery were set off from the "overplus land" in 1736. It was also called the "Center Cemetery". It was one of the three Town cemeteries. East Wilbraham Cemetery, Glendale Cemetery and Adams Cemetery.
The old section of Adams Cemetery covers the area from the east entrance road, west to the fence and from Tinkham Rd, north to the line of monuments on a line with the old cemetery vault house. Within this area there are 995 head-stones and footstones. A hearse house, where the town hearse was kept, was located on the southeast corner of the original section for many years. It was removed in 1871.
As time passed, the Burying Yard became known as the Adams Cemetery, since the cemetery was part of Deacon Adams' property on Main St. In 1876, the original section was enlarged by the addition on the east side of about 40 feet of land [The loop located just east of the east entrance] and again in 1896 by a larger addition on the north side. Another addition was made to the east side in 1969.

Closeup of left post at the Tinkham Rd. entrance to Adams Cemetery, Wilbraham, MA. Right post has "Est. 1741".

This is a cemetery of sermons in stone and a history of epitaphs. Most of the sandstone markers are decorated with an " egg-headed angel" or halos, cherubs, or sunbursts. Others have interlacing vines, leaves, circles, wheels and flowers. After 1800, the style of the decorations changed to the weeping willow and/or urn and the inscriptions and epitaphs changed also. The early stones of 150 years or more ago gave more information about the person than the stones of the last 50 years [1940-1990]. The names were sometimes spelled differently even though they were apparently from the same family.

The material used for the stones up until the 1830's, was the dark red sandstone found in Wilbraham. Some light colored stones are a white sandstone with some marble which came into use after 1830. there are a few stones of slate dated around 1870. The granite monuments appeared later are by far the most durable. Some of the stones are cenotaphs, monuments memorializing people who are buried elsewhere. Some residents of Wilbraham did own slaves,[as was the case in almost all of US then. There are no specific records of their burial locations, but it is believed that there are some burials of slaves along the back part of the fence on the west side of the cemetery.
From the Board of Cemetery Commissioners of the Town of Wilbraham, MA.[1995]

List Board For All Those Buried At Adams Cemetery