In response to an August 30, 2007 article in the Lowell Sun which was about the cemeteries under the care of the Dracut Cemetery Department, we wrote a leter to the editor. We did this to refute the contention in the article that the town of Dracut does not own the Claypit Cemetery. We strongly believe the cemetery is the town’s responsibility and Dracut is the rightful owner. Below is a copy ofthe letter we submitted to the Lowell Sun. It was published on September 27, 2007 in the Lowell Sun:
Letter to the Editor
The Lowell Sun
491 Dutton Street
Lowell MA 01853
To the Editor:
On August 30th, an article appeared in the Sun entitled, “Dracut History Rests in Peace.” The article detailed the seven cemeteries which are currently under the care of the Town of Dracut. Mr. John Metros, Dracut Cemetery Commissioner, was quoted in the article as saying, “The history is fascinating. You can learn so much about
Dracut just by reading the markers.”
As a history teacher, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.
Cemeteries are an excellent way to learn about local history and an invaluable resource to utilize when teaching students how to conduct primary research.
However, where I do strongly disagree with Mr. Metros is with his position that the town of
Dracut does not own the
Claypit
Cemetery.
Since this past February, I have been researching theClaypit
Cemetery with the help of three colleagues: Mr. W. Dean Eastman, retired history teacher at
Beverly
High School, Mr. Kevin McGrath, Library Media Specialist at
Newton
North
High School, and Ms. Catie Pelland, Special Education teacher at
Lakeview
Junior High School.
In addition, we have had two volunteers aiding us in our research.
We have been posting all of our research online at primaryresearch.org.
We have spent numerous hours at archives, libraries, and town offices researching those who are interred at Claypit.
Based upon what we have learned about theClaypit
Cemetery, there are several reasons as to why we believe that the town of
Dracut, not the city of
Lowell, should in fact claim ownership of the cemetery and begin properly maintaining the site.
Evidence to support these claims can be found online at primaryresearch.org:
1. Claypit
Cemetery is
Dracut’s oldest burying ground and has been referred to in some histories as “the Old Burying Ground.”
Dracut was incorporated as a town in 1701 and evidence suggests that the town’s first town clerk, John Varnum, was buried there in 1715.
However, we do know with certainty that the site was a burial ground by 1765 when Rev. Thomas Parker was buried there.
No deed can be found for Claypit which is not surprising given the age of the site.
However, this does not change the fact that Claypit is without a doubt an historically important site in
Dracut’s, not
Lowell’s, history.
2. Claypit is the final resting place for three Dracut veterans. Moses B. Coburn and Barzillai Lew were soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Coburn was a descendent of one of the town’s first settlers and Lew was a prominent African American in
Dracut.
Orrin R. Park was a soldier during the Civil War who died while enlisted.
All three are buried in Claypit and all three were
Dracut, not Lowell, residents.
It would seem as though the town of
Dracut would want to honor these men in a more fitting way than abandoning the cemetery in which they are interred and allowing it to fall into complete disrepair.
3. There is evidence that Native Americans have also been buried at Claypit in unmarked graves. The town should be stepping forward to help maintain the final resting place of these men and women who inhabited the area long before any white settler.
4. Claypit does lie within the boundaries of Lowell. This situation arose because the 1874 annexation of the Pawtucketville neighborhood to the city of
Lowell.
However, simply because the site is no longer within
Dracut’s boundaries does not mean
Dracut abdicates responsibility over the site.
Two other cemeteries which are maintained by the town of
Dracut, the Hildreth and the Hamblett, are within
Lowell’s boundaries and
Dracut maintains those.
The reason for maintaining the Hildreth cemetery was given in the August 30
th article by Mr. Metros.
He stated, “We maintain that cemetery [Hildreth] because this section of
Lowell was once part of
Dracut.”
So was the
Claypit
Cemetery.
What is the difference between the two?
5. If Dracut has no responsibility to maintain Claypit, then why have they gone in to help clean up the site several times over the years? This would appear to be a misuse of town resources. Why clean up something you claim is the city of
Lowell’s?
The Lowell Assessor names the town of Dracut as the owner of the site. It has been listed this way for years. Why has
Dracut allowed itself to be named as the owner of the
Claypit
Cemetery in the Assessor’s database?
Most likely this is due to an indifference over the site which has persisted for generations.
It is our contention that this indifference to such an important piece of
Dracut’s history must cease and that is why we have been diligently researching the forgotten stories of those buried in Claypit.
Historian David McCullough once said, “Indifference to history isn’t just ignorant, it’s rude.
It’s a form of ingratitude.”
We urge Dracut’s selectmen and Town Manager to visit primaryresearch.org so they can read first hand the stories of those buried there. The story of
Claypit
Cemetery is part of the story of their town.
It is their history.
It is time they take responsibility for it not only for us today, but for those in the future.
Rebecca Duda,Teacher,Lakeview JHS, Dracut
W. Dean Eastman,North Andover
Kevin McGrath,Maynard
Catie Pelland,Teacher,Lakeview
Junior High School,
Dracut