North/Union Cemetery Seawall

FY24 preservation work on the North Cemetery wall facing North Mill Pond is funded in part through a $20,000 NH State Library "Moose Plate" grant. The grant is being applied to preservation work and rebuilding the collapsed stone retaining wall facing North Mill Pond in North Cemetery. Work is scheduled to start June 11, 2024 and is expected to be completed by June 14.

The Union Cemetery opened in 1844 on a narrow lot adjacent to the North Cemetery. The 2013 Cemetery Existing Conditions Assessment reported that "The existing stone work in the wall facing North Mill Pond measured 50 feet in length but was originally almost twice that length. Its present height averaged four feet but it must have been originally at least six feet tall.  This wall has shifted and settled over the years. There has been a long term problem with erosion behind this wall. There are large sections at either end of the wall that have also collapsed into the pond. The top course of stones along the entire wall has fallen into the water. This retaining wall was probably built when the Union Cemetery was opened. Most of the granite boulders were drilled and split with feathers and wedges before their installation. The size and shape of the remaining drill marks indicate a mid-19th century building technology. The dry laid retaining wall at the back of the Union Cemeteries is in very poor condition and there is ongoing soil loss through this failing stonework. There is a large area behind the northwestern corner of the wall where the soil banking has been completely washed out."