Dellwood Cemetery

The Bennington County Directory, published in 1889, said this of Dellwood Cemetery: “The avenues and walks wind about artistically over the more elevated ground and into the valleys beneath, and along the beautiful creek, the damming of which creates 2 waterfalls.  The stream is spanned by several rustic bridges.  Under the bluff, with a broad carriage way in front, is situated the receiving vault, surmounted by bronze griffins, hedges of cedar, hemlock, and arbor vitae in various parts of the grounds add beauty and picturesqueness to the view.  In summer, the margins of the walks are lined with beautiful flowers and foliage plants from the greenhouses of the association.”   The avenues, walkways, ponds, waterfalls all remain intact.  The monuments and headstones, the majority of which set before 1915 were crafted locally in Manchester of Vermont marble and granite, face west towards Mt. Equinox, the tallest peak of the Taconic mountain range.

The cemetery added an additional 46 acres in 1904, and today, Dellwood Cemetery covers nearly 57 acres in the southern part of Manchester Village. 

Early History of the Village Burying Grounds

The 2+ acres of the old burial grounds were established for reinternments and overflow of the dead from the Village green beginning around 1812.  The original village cemetery had fallen into disrepair and used as a parade ground for the local militia.  When the Bennington County courthouse was erected in 1821, the remaining bodies and headstones were removed to the burial grounds to the south.

Dellwood Cemetery Association Established

On November 9, 1865, the Dellwood Cemetery Association was incorporated, by Special Act of Legislature, and the land (some 13 acres) was conveyed to the association by the Hon. Mark Skinner of Chicago, and the Hon. Helmus M. Wells of New York, former residents of Manchester Village.

About Six Thousand Dollars were subscribed for the purpose of embellishing the grounds. Mr. Burton A. Thomas, a rural architect of high reputation, was employed to plan and lay out the avenues, walks, and burial lots; which plan is being executed by Messrs. A.G. Clark, E.B. Burton and F.H. Orvis, the Committee of Superintendence, to the satisfaction of the Association.