Built 1857 MPS Waltham MRA Added to NRHP September 28, 1989 Phone +1 781-314-3495 | Architectural style Italianate, Romanesque NRHP Reference # 89001497 Area 34 ha | |
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Location 203 Prospect St., Waltham, Massachusetts Address 203 Prospect St, Waltham, MA 02453, USA Hours Closed today SundayClosedMonday8:30AM–4:30PMTuesday8:30AM–4:30PMWednesday8:30AM–4:30PMThursday8:30AM–4:30PMFriday8:30AM–4:30PMSaturdayClosed Similar Waltham City Pumping, Waltham Senior High Sch, Town Clerk, Watertown Town Clerk, Newton Police Departme | ||
Mount Feake Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 203 Prospect Street in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Overview
Established in 1857, it is the city's second cemetery, after Grove Hill Cemetery, and is one of the best-preserved garden cemeteries in the state. It takes its name from Waltham's highest point, Mount Feake, which was named by Governor John Winthrop in 1632 for his future nephew-in-law, Robert Feake, one of the founding settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Mount Feake Cemetery was designed by Robert Morris Copeland, and was from its inception compared to the older Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. It stands on a somewhat rugged parcel of land that rises above the Charles River across from the Waltham Watch Company complex. A series of winding lanes, designed to complement the terrain, provide access to all parts of the cemetery. Most of the grave markers are made of granite, although marble and limestone are also well-represented.
The brick pumping station built in 1872, along with all of the other associated buildings. Though the outlying buildings disappeared long ago, the remains of the pumping station itself lasted until roughly the turn of the last century, when despite its architectural distinction, to say nothing of its own historic status, all traces of it were quietly removed from the Cemetery's grounds. Replete with the remains of a massive 19th century steam engine, its strange, ruinous condition only seemed to enhance the indelible impression it never failed to make—up until than, at any rate—on all who happened upon it.