Here in Exeter, we are lucky to have time capsules of history located literally right in our own yards. There are dozens and dozens of small cemetery plots scattered all over town, and each one has amazing stories.
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The Peckham Holocaust mass grave is located in the
northeast corner of Cemetery #25 (foreground, left side). |
For example, did you know that Cemetery #25, at the intersection of William Reynolds and Purgatory Rds, is the location of a
mass grave from a horrible fire that claimed the lives of eight people and made national news in 1839? The Peckham Holocaust was a result of arson at the home of Mr. and Mrs Timothy Peckham, who ran a boarding house as the town "Poor Farm". The story about the fire originally ran in the Providence Journal and the Rhode Island Republican (a Newport paper) on April 17 of that year. Within one week of its publication, it was picked up by 9 other newspapers, from Alexandria VA to Brattleboro VT.
Do you have a cemetery on your land, or near your house, that you'd like to know more about? The Exeter Historical Association is starting an "Adopt-a-Cemetery" program. We'll be posting more information about this program in the coming months, but if you'd like to get started in caring for a cemetery on or near your property, contact us at
exeterhistory@yahoo.com
