Broad Street Cemetery Preservation Plan

Preservation Plan is now complete!

To view the plan please click here

The City is excited to announce the culmination of the Broad Street Cemetery Preservation Planning project! The City began work on this new plan for the historic burial ground in the spring of 2020. Through the use of Community Preservation Act funds, the City hired Martha Lyon Landscape Architects as the lead consultant along with stone conservator Fannin-Lehner Preservation Consultants and structural engineer Structures North. As authors of Salem’s 2002 Burial Ground Planning Project, Martha Lyon and Fannin-Lehner bring an in-depth knowledge of Salem’s historic burial grounds to the current Broad Street Cemetery project. Fannin-Lehner also prepared the inventory form for the cemetery. During the 2002 Plan, the team assessed four City-owned burial grounds including Broad Street Cemetery and provided recommendations for their preservation. Unfortunately, many of the recommendations identified in the 2002 study for Broad Street Cemetery were not implemented and site conditions and restoration costs at the cemetery have changed considerably in the past 15 years. Today, Broad Street Cemetery is exhibiting visible signs of deterioration and is in need of significant investment. The 2021 Preservation Plan assessed current conditions at the burial site and makes recommendations for preservation initiatives, including conservation of landscape and historic burial features, stabilization of walls and tombs and enhancement of Cemetery entrances. The team also provided cost estimates to enable the City to seek funding for restoration work and a management guide for site maintenance. Throughout the planning process, the City and the consultant team worked closely with the Friends of Broad Street Cemetery (FOB), neighbors, stakeholders, and others to solicit input for the plan. Two public meetings were held to gather information and present draft recommendations.

The project was organized in the following phases:

• Phase I - Preliminary documentation of cemetery (in progress)

• Phase II - Assessment of existing conditions (estimated to begin early September)

  • 1st Public Meeting held in October 2020. Click here to see slideshow

• Phase III - Draft recommendations

  • 2nd Public Meeting held in February 2021

• Phase IV - Final report

For more information about this project, please contact Patti Kelleher, Preservation Planner at pkelleher@salem.com.

History of Broad Street Cemetery

Broad Street Cemetery is located between Broad, Winthrop and Summer Streets directly behind the former Salem Senior Center at 5 Broad Street. The cemetery was first laid out in 1655 and is Salem’s second oldest burial ground. First known as “Lawes Hill Burial Place” then “Ye Old Common Burying Hill” and finally “Broad Street Cemetery”, the burial ground was expanded over its history and was enclosed beginning in 1732,first with wood fences and later with a combination granite block wall and iron picket and wood picket fencing. Notable burials at the Cemetery include individuals associated with the Salem witch trials, Revolutionary War and Civil War veterans, merchants and craftsmen, and Salem philanthropists. The cemetery contains an exceptional collection of historic burial features including slate and marble head stones carved by noteworthy early Massachusetts stone carvers. Over the past several years, a stone conservator has completed conservation work on the most damaged marble and slate markers. Broad Street Cemetery also contains an unusually large number of tombs for a cemetery of its size. In all, the site contains 85 known tombs, including both underground tombs and box tombs and table tomb markers. Broad Street Cemetery also serves as a beautiful green space for the neighborhood with mature shade trees, evergreen and ornamental trees and flowering shrubs.