The Strangest Cemetery: Hope Cemetery; Barre, Vermont
Many years ago, when I moved back to Vermont I began working for WNCS, a radio station located in Montpelier. I was a part time DJ and part time reporter. One of my assignments was to cover the weekly Barre City Council meetings for the station. I soon realized, the town had a large Italian population, which seemed strange.
I mean all four of my grandparents had come off the boat from Italy and settled in Providence, Rhode Island, an Industrial city. Why were all these Italians in Barre, Vermont?
I soon discovered that the Italians had been lured to Barre to work in the towns largest industry, the granite industry. These immigrants had been master stone cutters working with marble in their native Italy.
One of my girl friends, at the time, introduced me to Hope Cemetery. She took me there one day because she thought I might be interested in something strange. She was absolutely right.
As we drove into the cemetery, I was in awe. I was not expecting the sight I was to behold. Certainly not in Barre, Vermont.
Now there were some traditional headstones at Hope, which made it look like an ordinary cemetery. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a large number of the most incredible headstones, I have ever seen.
There was a race car carved out of granite, there was a sculpture of two people in bed, there was a giant cube, placed in end. There were pictures embedded in the rock. Unusual and incredible headstones, carved completely out of granite. There were many, many other bizarre headstones. Each original, each bizarre and masterfully created. All of these were headstones, created by the stone cutters as a perpetual monument to a loved one.
I had come upon the Louvre, of Cemetaries. The Smithsonian of graveyards. This cemetery should be declared a national historic monument. I encourage you to visit, Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont. You will not be disappointed. For some pictures of Hope, go to:
I recommend you claim Weird New England, right now!
You can’t go wrong with this Weirdness!
Albert Grande
Bimwah-in-Training
http://bimwah.net
http://pizzatherapy.com
http://grandepublishing.com
http://pastatherapy.com
