Millville Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Millville Cemetery is located on East Shelby Road (Orleans County
Route 18) in Millville
, New York, United States. It was established in 1871 as a rural cemetery
, expanding on an early burial ground.
The cemetery is built on a small hill in an otherwise flat area. The landscape was manipulated to create a system of perimeter roads and plantings, characteristics that show an advanced understanding of the rural cemetery aesthetic by its unknown designer(s). Its focal point, near the top of the hill, is a small wooden chapel with a memorial vault
in the basement.
Its monuments and funerary art
, in a variety of styles, reflect the prosperity of Millville in the late 19th century. In 2007 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
,
the second cemetery in the county with that distinction after Mount Albion Cemetery outside Albion.
, approximately one mile (1.6 km) south of Maple Ridge Road (NY 31A
) at the hamlet of Millville, and a thousand feet (300 m) north of East Shelby's intersection with Martin and Wheeler roads. Medina
, several miles to the northwest, is the nearest large settlement. The area is rural, with open worked fields and houses clustered near the road. The cemetery is built on a small hill that rises 30 feet (9.1 m) above the surrounding level terrain.
On the road side, the cemetery is delineated by a retaining wall
of locally quarried red Medina sandstone
in an ashlar
pattern. At the center an ornate iron arch on brick piers with "Millville Cemetery" spelled out on top allows access to the narrow gravel road going up the hill. It is one of four that cross the cemetery east-west to a parallel gravel road in the rear. The plantings, primarily large evergreen
trees, proceed in regular rows across the property.
Near the hilltop, to the northwest of the center of the cemetery, is the chapel. It is a 26 feet (7.9 m) wood frame
Gothic Revival building that serves as a chapel, office and receiving vault. It is a one-and-a-half-story structure on a Medina sandstone foundation, built into the hill and also used as a vault. Sided in clapboard
, it is topped with a cross-gable
d roof shingled in asphalt. Each side has, along the ground floor, a single double-hung sash window
and jigsaw-cut tracery vergeboards. A door on the south side with simple bracketed
hood is the main entrance. It opens into a single large room with varnished beaded walls and simple wood trim.
The oldest of the 197 graves, dating to the 1820s, are found in the original burying ground at the northwest corner. All others date from the cemetery's establishment to the present, with most predating 1950. They range from simple marble slabs to obelisks, sarcophagi
and some custom designs. The most unusual is a tall hexagonal obelisk with Gothic Revival detailing in white marble. All decedents are local.
s, gristmill
and turning mill in the settlement. Later, the clearing of land for farms reduced the flow of the streams and it could not support as many mills.
By 1870, it had a school, post office, churches, shops and stores amid about 30 houses. Residents incorporated the Millville Cemetery Association to expand the old burying ground south of the hamlet into a cemetery. It was opened in 1871, and by 1873 the receiving vault
had been built into the hillside.
Records from that time period do not say who designed the cemetery. It seems from what was built that the designer or cemetery trustees had a well-formed understanding of the rural cemetery
concept to apply it effectively. Its use of one of the few significant rises in an otherwise flat area, the landscaping and roads and the plantings make it an exemplary vernacular
rural cemetery.
The only significant change to the original design was the addition of the chapel building. The association's trustees decided to build it over the vault in 1893. They selected a design by Joseph Campbell the following year, and it was finished by December 1894 at a total cost of $459 ($ in contemporary dollars). There have been no changes since then save the addition of more graves.
Orleans County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 44,171 people, 15,363 households, and 10,846 families residing in the county. The population density was 113 people per square mile . There were 17,347 housing units at an average density of 44 per square mile...
Route 18) in Millville
Millville, New York
Millville, New York is an unincorporated hamlet in the town of Shelby in Orleans County, New York, USA. First settled in the mid-1810s, Millville grew as a result of the mills located there to tap the abundant water available in the three streams that run through the hamlet...
, New York, United States. It was established in 1871 as a rural cemetery
Rural cemetery
The rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of burial ground that uses landscaping in a park-like setting.As early as 1711 the architect Sir Christopher Wren had advocated the creation of burial grounds on the outskirts of town, "inclosed with a strong Brick Wall, and having a walk round, and...
, expanding on an early burial ground.
The cemetery is built on a small hill in an otherwise flat area. The landscape was manipulated to create a system of perimeter roads and plantings, characteristics that show an advanced understanding of the rural cemetery aesthetic by its unknown designer(s). Its focal point, near the top of the hill, is a small wooden chapel with a memorial vault
Burial vault (tomb)
A burial vault is a structural underground tomb.It is a stone or brick-lined underground space or 'burial' chamber for the interment of a dead body or bodies. They were originally and are still often vaulted and usually have stone slab entrances...
in the basement.
Its monuments and funerary art
Funerary art
Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. Tomb is a general term for the repository, while grave goods are objects—other than the primary human remains—which have been placed inside...
, in a variety of styles, reflect the prosperity of Millville in the late 19th century. In 2007 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
,
the second cemetery in the county with that distinction after Mount Albion Cemetery outside Albion.
Grounds
The cemetery is a 7.5 acres (3 ha) parcel on the east side of West Shelby Road in the Town of ShelbyShelby, New York
Shelby, New York is a town in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 5,420 at the 2000 census.The Town of Shelby is located in southwest corner of Orleans County.- History :...
, approximately one mile (1.6 km) south of Maple Ridge Road (NY 31A
New York State Route 31A
New York State Route 31A is an east–west state highway located in the western part of New York in the United States. It serves as a southerly alternate route of NY 31 from the western part of Orleans County to the far western part of Monroe County...
) at the hamlet of Millville, and a thousand feet (300 m) north of East Shelby's intersection with Martin and Wheeler roads. Medina
Medina, New York
Medina is a village in the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 6,415 at the 2000 census, making it the second most populous municipality in the county after Albion, the county seat. The village was named by its surveyor...
, several miles to the northwest, is the nearest large settlement. The area is rural, with open worked fields and houses clustered near the road. The cemetery is built on a small hill that rises 30 feet (9.1 m) above the surrounding level terrain.
On the road side, the cemetery is delineated by a retaining wall
Retaining wall
Retaining walls are built in order to hold back earth which would otherwise move downwards. Their purpose is to stabilize slopes and provide useful areas at different elevations, e.g...
of locally quarried red Medina sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
in an ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
pattern. At the center an ornate iron arch on brick piers with "Millville Cemetery" spelled out on top allows access to the narrow gravel road going up the hill. It is one of four that cross the cemetery east-west to a parallel gravel road in the rear. The plantings, primarily large evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
trees, proceed in regular rows across the property.
Near the hilltop, to the northwest of the center of the cemetery, is the chapel. It is a 26 feet (7.9 m) wood frame
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
Gothic Revival building that serves as a chapel, office and receiving vault. It is a one-and-a-half-story structure on a Medina sandstone foundation, built into the hill and also used as a vault. Sided in clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
, it is topped with a cross-gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof shingled in asphalt. Each side has, along the ground floor, a single double-hung sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
and jigsaw-cut tracery vergeboards. A door on the south side with simple bracketed
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
hood is the main entrance. It opens into a single large room with varnished beaded walls and simple wood trim.
The oldest of the 197 graves, dating to the 1820s, are found in the original burying ground at the northwest corner. All others date from the cemetery's establishment to the present, with most predating 1950. They range from simple marble slabs to obelisks, sarcophagi
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
and some custom designs. The most unusual is a tall hexagonal obelisk with Gothic Revival detailing in white marble. All decedents are local.
History
Millville grew starting in the 1810s through its access to the water power of Fish Creek and two other streams nearby. In its early years, its name was evident from the three sawmillSawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s, gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
and turning mill in the settlement. Later, the clearing of land for farms reduced the flow of the streams and it could not support as many mills.
By 1870, it had a school, post office, churches, shops and stores amid about 30 houses. Residents incorporated the Millville Cemetery Association to expand the old burying ground south of the hamlet into a cemetery. It was opened in 1871, and by 1873 the receiving vault
Burial vault (tomb)
A burial vault is a structural underground tomb.It is a stone or brick-lined underground space or 'burial' chamber for the interment of a dead body or bodies. They were originally and are still often vaulted and usually have stone slab entrances...
had been built into the hillside.
Records from that time period do not say who designed the cemetery. It seems from what was built that the designer or cemetery trustees had a well-formed understanding of the rural cemetery
Rural cemetery
The rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of burial ground that uses landscaping in a park-like setting.As early as 1711 the architect Sir Christopher Wren had advocated the creation of burial grounds on the outskirts of town, "inclosed with a strong Brick Wall, and having a walk round, and...
concept to apply it effectively. Its use of one of the few significant rises in an otherwise flat area, the landscaping and roads and the plantings make it an exemplary vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
rural cemetery.
The only significant change to the original design was the addition of the chapel building. The association's trustees decided to build it over the vault in 1893. They selected a design by Joseph Campbell the following year, and it was finished by December 1894 at a total cost of $459 ($ in contemporary dollars). There have been no changes since then save the addition of more graves.
External links
- Millville Cemetery, at USGenWeb