Tour Stop 8: Wadsworth Monument, Adams Children
Watch your step as you walk through the stones. Sunken spots, iron posts, small markers are all tripping hazards! Also, please never step backwards unless you double-check what you're stepping on first.
Wadsworth monument, Adams markers in foreground
(full-size image of the Wadsworth monument on Flickr)
Henry Wadsworth (uncle of the poet) died in Tripoli in 1804. His body was never returned to his homeland, so this monument, a cenotaph—meaning the marker memorializes someone who is buried elsewhere—was erected by his family in his honor. This impressive monument serves as an example of the conservation efforts of Spirits Alive. At some point, it had been toppled, and in 2013, Spirits Alive had it put back together. More than 500 gravestones and monuments have received the careful attention of Spirits Alive’s trained volunteer conservation crew.
Adams children's markers
(full-size image of the Adams markers on Flickr)
Find Wadsworth
From the Wadsworth monument, turn toward Funeral Lane and look right. In the next row, there are 3 small slate markers. These are carved by Portland’s first stonecutter, Bartlett Adams, for 3 of his children: Eliza, George, and Bartlett Jr.
Until Bartlett Adams arrived in Portland in 1800, families wanting finished gravestones would need to make the 100-mile sea voyage to Boston to have them made in one of the many stone shops there. With Bartlett Adams’ arrival, all that changed, and people could visit Adams’ shop near the cemetery to have stones carved for their loved ones. Adams and the men who worked for him created about 700 of the gravestones found in Eastern Cemetery today. He and his wife Charlotte Neal had 7 children, but 6 of them predeceased him. Bartlett Adams died in 1828, at the age of 51. His shop produced hundreds of gravestones that can be found in early cemeteries throughout southern Maine.
Note the extraordinary effort Bartlett Adams put into the marker for his namesake son, who died in 1806, at just a few months old. This is one of his greatest works, showing his amazing talent as a carver of stone and his expertise in lettering and numbering.
Later Reads
- Wadsworth Monument Repair
- Early Gravestones in Southern Maine – The Genius of Bartlett Adams (book by Ron Romano)
Continue to Stop 9: African American Ground Overlook
As you read the Adams markers, look to your right. Carefully make your way diagonally through the stones towards the back corner of the cemetery, until you reach the crest of the hill. You have reached Stop 9, the African American Ground Overlook.