Mount Feake Cemetery was founded in 1857. The original entrance to the Cemetery was on South Street, where the present Beth Israel Cemetery is located. The Cemetery office is located on the site of Riverview Station, a busy stop on the railroad main line when the Waltham Watch Factory (across the Charles River) was in its heyday.

Just beyond the office, on the right, is the Spanish-American War Veterans lot, and the row of white gravestones beyond it, is the World War I Veterans lot.

Keep to the right of the fork in the road, and go to the end. Turn right and then left and then turn left on Kendall Avenue. On your right is the grave of former Mayor Arthur Hansen (d. 1942), who died in office. On the left is the grave of former Mayor Chauncy G. Cousens (d.1966)

Continue on Kendall Avenue around the circle to the right. You are now on Mount Feake Avenue. At the top of Mount Feake Avenue, you can look straight down the hill. Across the road, at the bottom of the hill is where a bridge existed that once connected to the roadway across the railroad tracks and then to the early entrance to the Cemetery on South Street.

At the top of Mount Feake Avenue, turn left. You are now on Mount Feake. In 1632, during an expedition along the Charles River, Governor John Winthrop named Mount Feake after his son-in-law, Robert Feake.

Proceed down Stone Avenue and turn left. Continue straight and take the third left. You are now on Winthrop Hill; the first Governor named this high spot for himself. Halfway around the circle is the monument of F. F. Martin. The monument is quite unique. It was erected in the mid 1930’s and the ball is a perfect polished sphere. The three carvings on the base of the monument are hand carved, and are exactly alike.

To the right of the ball, and four rows behind it, is the grave of Byron Johnson (d. 1915), the first Mayor of Waltham. Continue around the circle and proceed down Oldham Avenue. Take your first right, and then your next left.

On the right, beside the road, is a monument erected by the City of Cambridge which commemorates the construction of a tunnel under Mount Feake. The tunnel houses a 36” pipe that carries water from the Stoney Brook Reservoir to the City of Cambridge. On the left, is the ornate statue and monument of Mr. Obed Shepherd (d. 1910).
At the crossroad of Harrington Avenue on the left, the large brown obelisk marks the four lots of the International Order of Odd Fellows. Turn left at the end of Quinobequin Avenue (Quinobequin is the Native American name for the Charles River).

On your left, halfway up the hill, is a two foot high slant-faced monument marking the grave of Effie Carlton. Miss Carlton was the composer of “Rock-a-bye Baby”.

Continue straight and take your first sharp right up the hill. At the top of the hill on your left is a white monument that marks the grave of George Maynard (d. 1927), the only Congressional Medal of Honor recipient ever from Waltham. Maynard was decorated for bravery during the Civil War.

At the bend in the road on your right, is a pink rock (out on the point). The rock is on the Copeland Lot. Morris Copeland, an engineer, agreed in June of 1857 to lay out Mount Feake Cemetery for a fee of $325.00 plus his choice of a grave lot. The lot on the point is what he chose.

As you proceed around the bend, on your left, on the hill, is a white monument designed to signify a broken ship’s mast. This is the Caldwell lot. Several of the Caldwell sons served in either the U.S. Navy or the U.S. Marine Corps. One of the sons was lost at sea. The Longitude and Latitude of his loss are marked on the monument. It was off Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America.

At the bottom of the hill on your left, is the Dustin lot. Eben Dustin (d. 1862) died of wounds received at the battle of Antietam during the Civil War.

Turn right. At the top of the rise on your right, is a black monument that marks the grave of Dr. Alfred Worcester. Dr. Worcester (d. 1951), was a pioneer in the use of sterilized operating rooms and instruments. He started the Watham Hospital and founded the Waltham Training School for Nurses.

Further on your left is the Brown lot. The two white monuments in the right front of the lot, mark the graves of George and Charles Brown. George was killed at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. Charles was wounded the same day, and died from his wounds two weeks later.

Continuing, on your right, the black fence marks the Roberts lot. John Roberts operated the Upham-Roberts Mill on the Stoney Brook. The Roberts section of the City is named for him. The grave of Ellen Roberts (d. 1857), (second from right in the front row), marks the first interment in Mount Feake Cemetery.

Continuing to the second tree on your right. Behind the tree in the rear of the lot, is the grave of Francis Field (d. 1866). Dr. Field, a dentist by profession, invented common chalk.

Continuing, on your right is the Upham Monument. Upham was the co-owner of the Upham-Roberts Mill. Follow the main road around to the left and keep left at the fork in the road. Cross Ripley Avenue and continue to the top of the rise. On your left is the Civil War Veterans lot with the statue of the Union Soldier. Turn left onto Sanderson Avenue.

On your right, the tall obelisk marks the Hovey-Parmenter lot. Hovey and Parmenter left large endowments for various civic purposes. The present IBEW Hall on Main Street was originally the Hovey Memorial, and the housing complex across Main Street from IBEW Hall is the Parmenter House.

On your left is the Buttrick Monument. Francis Buttrick left a bequest to the City, to construct the Waltham Public Library. Turn right at the end of Sanderson Avenue and bear right on Dummer Avenue.

On your left is the monument to Charles VanderWoerd. VanderWoerd was the foreman in the Screw Machine Section of the Waltham Watch Company. He invented the screw machine for making small parts. Woerd Avenue in the Riverview section of Waltham was named for him. Further on your left are the many monuments of the Warren family. The Warrens were vast land owners in the east end of Waltham. The Warrendale section of the City is named for the family.

Turn right at the end of Dummer Avenue onto Trapelo Avenue. Proceed past Cushing Avenue on your left. Just beyond Cushing Avenue is the monument to the Waltham Training School for Nurses. Any graduate of the school could be buried there if they so wished.
Continue on Trapelo Avenue and up the hill on River Avenue. At the top of the hill, on your left, is the Church lot. The Churches were engineers and designers of the mechanisms for the Waltham Watches. Beyond the intersection of Livermore Avenue, is our World War II Veterans lot.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief tour of historic Mount Feake Cemetery.