Ledge Cemetery, also known as the Cemetery under the Ledge,''Collections and Proceedings of the Maine Historical Society'',

Maine Historical Society The Maine Historical Society (MHS) is the official historical society of the U.S. state of Maine. It is located at 489 Congress Street in downtown Portland. The Society currently operates the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, a National Historic Land ...

(1899), p. 76 is a historic cemetery in Yarmouth,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, United States. Dating to 1770, it stands on

Gilman Road Gilman Road is a prominent street in Yarmouth, Maine, United States. It runs for about from Lafayette Street (Maine State Route 88, State Route 88) in the northwest to the Ellis C. Snodgrass Memorial Bridge at White's Cove in the southeast. ...

, around southwest of the older and smaller

Pioneer Cemetery In the United States, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere, a pioneer cemetery is a cemetery that is the burial place for pioneers. American pioneers founded such cemeteries during territorial expansion of the United States, with founding dates span ...

.''Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636-1936: A History'',

William Hutchinson Rowe William Hutchinson Rowe (March 6, 1882''Maine Biographies'', Harrie B. Coe (before 1937), p. 135 – 1955) was an American author and historian who lived in Yarmouth, Maine. The town's elementary school, built the year he died, is now named for ...

(1937) Some headstones bear dates earlier than 1770, for many burials—such as that of Revd. Nicholas Loring—were removed from the older cemetery The original

First Parish Congregational Church The First Parish Congregational Church is a historic church at 116 Main Street in Yarmouth, Maine. The congregation was established in 1730, as the ninth church founded in what is now Maine. The current Italianate meeting house was constructed ...

, known as the Old Ledge Meetinghouse, stood near the site between 1730 and 1818. Its first pastor was Reverend Ammi Ruhamah Cutter. Tristram Gilman, for whom Gilman Road is named, was the fourth pastor. He served in the role for forty years, and was buried in the Ledge Cemetery upon his death in 1809, aged 73. His wife, Elizabeth Sayer, is buried beside him.''Yarmouth Revisited'', Amy Aldredge Several

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...

s are also interred here, including those from the Drinkwater family. Captain Theophilus Drinkwater, son of Allen and Hannah Drinkwater, gave his name to nearby Drinkwater Point Road."Old Times: a magazine devoted to the preservation and publication of documents relating to the early history of North Yarmouth, Maine"
/ref> Of a settlement that originally contained a school, a tavern and a cemetery, only the cemetery and the ledge doorstep of the church remain.

Notable burials

* Ammi Ruhamah Cutter (1705–1746), first pastor of the Old Ledge Meetinghouse *Captain Theophilus Drinkwater (1792–1872), namesake of Drinkwater Point Road * Tristram Gilman (1735–1809), fourth pastor of the church that formerly stood on the site, namesake of Gilman Road * Frances Elliott Mann Hall (1853–1935), founder of

Sigma Kappa Sigma Kappa (, also known as SK or Sig Kap) is a sorority founded on November 9, 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. The sorority has initiated 226,000 members, has 119 collegiate chapters, and has over 98 alumnae chapters. It is offic ...

sorority * Giles Loring (1813–1893), shipwright *Reverend Nicholas Loring (1711–1763), second pastor of the Old Ledge Meetinghouse; died in the role"North Yarmouth, Maine. First Church"
–

Congregational Library & Archives The Congregational Library & Archives is an independent special collections library and archives. It is located on the second floor of the Congregational House at 14 Beacon Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The L ...

* Jacob Mitchell (1696–1784), deacon *Honorable Jeremiah Powell (1720–1784), in the now-unmarked Powell tomb behind that of deacon Jacob Mitchell *Captain Cushing Prince Jr. (1786–1869), sea captain *Captain Reuben Prince (1792–1870), sea captain

Gallery

File:Ledge Cemetery 1.jpg, alt=Looking south across the cemetery toward Broad Cove, Looking southwest across the cemetery toward the northern tip of Broad Cove File:Tristram Gilman.jpg, The headstone of Tristram Gilman, the fourth pastor of the former Meetinghouse under the Ledge File:Historic Yarmouth information board.jpg, An information board marking sites of interest in and around the two cemeteries

References

{{reflist 1770 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Cemeteries in Yarmouth, Maine Cemeteries established in the 1770s