Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: - preliminary determination of individual listing (36 _ State Historic Preservation Ofice CFR 67) has been requested - Other State agency - previously listed in the National Register - Federal agency - previously determined eligible by the National x Local government Register - University - designated a National Historic Landmark - Other _ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Name of repository: # Worthington Assessor's Office - recorded by Historic American Engineering Record #. NPS Form 1 10.900-a OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 8 Page 1 - 8. NARRATIVE STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Ringville Cemetery, Witt Hill Road, Worthington, MA possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association and meets National Register Criteria A and C. Perched on a rise on the south side of Witt Hill Road, Ringville Cemetery may have begun as the family burial ground for the Ring Family, mill owners and manufacturers of window curtains, baby carriages, sleds, and bedsteads in the local hamlet of Ringville. While the exact date of the Cemetery's founding is unknown, it was likely sometime in the 1840s, the years of the earliest burials and the coming of the Rings to the area.
The Cemetery also contains at least ten graves moved from Ireland Street in neighboring Chesterfield. While these date as far back as 1814, they likely appeared at the Ringville Cemetery much later. The farmers, mill owners, manufacturers of the Ringville area account for many of the burials at the Cemetery. Included are brothers Elkanah (d. 1864) and Thomas (d. 1868) Ring and their descendents, businessmen, and civic leaders. Martin and Maranda Conwell (d. 1874 and 1877 respectively), parents of Temple University founder Russell H. Conwell (1843-1925), are buried near the Cemetery core. Both strongly opposed slavery, and their South Worthington home provided a stop on the Underground Railway. Ringville Cemetery contains 35 veterans, eight of whom fought in the Civil War. Ringville Cemetery meets Criterion C through its many landscape features and locally-carved gravestones.
A fieldstone retaining wall, topped with a granite cap, supports the Cemetery's northern edge along unpaved Witt Hill Road. Local legend claims the stones came from the nearby Chesterfield Gorge, hauled to the site by oxen. Openings in the wall allow visitors access at four points, two of which serve pedestrians with stone steps. Mature sugar maple trees stand (continued) (NPS rm 1 10-900-1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 8 Page_2 alongside the wall, their limbs arching far into the Cemetery. Watts Stream, in a ravine along the southern border, provides a constant sound of rushing water. In addition to the many Victorian-era markers and monuments, Ringville contains two features of particular note.
The Blair Vault, ca. 1927, the most dominant Cemetery feature is constructed of rough-faced granite and brick and sits atop four stone steps at a break in the Cemetery wall. Its façade consists of two pyramidal pylons supporting an inscribed lintel. The work of 19" century stone carvers appears on the stones of several Ringville graves, including those moved to the Cemetery from Ireland Street. While Ringville Cemetery expanded in 1989 to include one additional acre at its western edge and the lown continues to bury in the Cemetery to this day, the original design has been preserved. The Town of Worthington has retained the historic walls and maintained the mature maples, preserving its historical integrity and its place in the Town's history.
A Brief History of Worthington Establishment and Early History (1700s) The land that comprises the Town of Worthington today was purchased on June 2, 1762 from the Province of Massachusetts Bay. It was sold at auction as 'Plantation Number 3' along with several other land tracts in the area. Aaron Willard Jr. of Lancaster made the purchase for himself and four other buyers: Selah Barnard, Josiah Dwight, Timothy Dwight, and John Worthington, for whom the Town was named. These five people were the original proprietors of Plantation Number 3, and the earliest settlers purchased land from them. The proprietors donated land for the settlement's first meetinghouse, grist mill, and school, and also financed the construction of the meetinghouse and grist mill. (continued) (NPS Tora1 10-900-g United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 8 Page_ 3 Many of Worthington's first settlers came to the area from Preston, Connecticut, arriving and establishing homesteads by the late spring of 1764. Other early settlers came from central and eastern Massachusetts, drawn to the area because of its large tracts of land for agriculture and streams for the powering of grist and lumber mills. The Town of Worthington was officially incorporated on June 30th, 1768. Following incorporation residents began to establish important community amenities including the meetinghouse (1760s), two taverns (1760s), a church (1771), and a school (1773). By 1776 the Town's population had reached approximately 639. The first meetinghouse was constructed near the intersection of today's Sam Hill Road and West Street.
By all accounts it was a somewhat primitive and uncomfortable building which was constructed over a period of many years. The Town's First Congregational Church, organized in 1771, appears to have used the meetinghouse for its services as well. The Townspeople may have established a cemetery behind this structure in 1771, the same year they hired Reverend Jonathan Huntington, the Town's first minister. In the early 1790s the meetinghouse was dismantled, redesigned, and rebuilt near the intersection of Harvey and Huntington Roads, responding to an eastward shift in the Town's population. During the Revolutionary War, Worthington provided troops and supplies whenever requests were made. Captain Ebenezer Webber of Worthington led 71 Minute Men from Worthington and Ashfield to the Boston area in 1775. At least 42 Worthington soldiers participated in the Revolutionary War.
Growth of the Town (late 1700s and 1800s) Worthington's early settlers engaged primarily in agriculture, producing flax, corn, hay, wheat, tobacco, rye, butter, cheese, barley, potatoes, oats, maple molasses, maple sugar, buckwheat, peas, beans, beeswax, and honey. Many Worthington residents raised sheep and exported the wool, but lower prices from abroad during the 1800s led to the decline of sheep farming in the Town. (continued) IPSPorm 1 10-00-a United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 - National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 8 Page_ 4 - The Westfield River and the numerous streams in Worthington provided power for many lifferent mills and factories.
Beginning in the 1700s and throughout the 1800s a wide variety of goods were produced in Worthington, including lumber and wood furniture, sleds and children' toys, tool handles, leather saddles, harnesses, baskets, shoes, cider, and cheese. During this period the settlers of the Town established several small villages or hamlets, many of which had their own municipal amenities including post offices, schools, and cemeteries. These hamlets included: West Worthington, Christian Hollow or Sampsonville, Worthington Corners, Worthington Center, Ringville, the Kinne/Pease District, and South Worthington. Worthington Corners historically was a crossroads, containing amenities like stores, taverns, a post office, and the North Cemetery. During the 1800s a cheese factory and basket shop also operated in this part of town.
In 1797 the Albany-Boston Turnpike was constructed through Worthington, resulting in a constant flow of people, traffic, and news through the Town. During this period there were five taverns in Worthington, accommodating the public and private stagecoaches using the Turnpike. The advent of the railroad in 1841, which did not run through Worthington, greatly reduced the traffic along the Turnpike and substantially altered the character of the Town. According to historian and author Clifton Johnson, "Worthington became an inland town", and "the stores and taverns along the line of the old road disappeared." Approximately 24 Worthington soldiers served in the War of 1812, including William Ward and William Rice as commissioned officers. Between 62 and 102 men served in the Civil War, of whom 21 were killed or died during service.
In 1825, the first meetinghouse, which had been moved from its original location in the early 1790s, was abandoned and a new building constructed on the site of today's Congregational Church. During the 1800s two other churches were established in Worthington, both of Methodist Episcopal denomination. One was in South Worthington and was established in 1828, and the other was in West Worthington and was established in 1849. (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900- OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 8 Page_5 - In 1810, the Town population reached a high point of 1,391. However, with the opening of the railroad in 1841 along the Westfield River several miles to the south, Worthington's population began to decline.
By 1900 only 675 resided in Worthington. Worthington in the 20"h Century During the early 1900s dairy farming became an important part of the local economy, but like sheep farming during the 1800s it had declined by mid-century. Similar to most communities across the state, agriculture as a source of employment has declined steadily in Worthington over the past century. The mills and factories of the 1800s have also closed, no longer providing local employment. The hamlet of Ringville, for example, once supported the Ring and Hayden Mills as well as its own school, post office and stores. By the late 1900s it consisted of a small number of homes and the Ringville Cemetery. Today many Worthington residents commute to neighboring towns and cities for employment and shopping. Twenty-six Worthington men served in World War 1 and 52 served in World War Il.
Their names are listed on a boulder within the town common, and include four who lost their lives: William J. Coffey, Norman C. Eddy, Donald W. Mollison, and Russell B. Shaw. In 1950 local citizens established the Worthington Health Center to replace the country doctor who retired in that year. A private enterprise, the Health Center receives funding from annual dues paid by members and from donations, as well as fees charged to patients. It is a unique system that serves citizens from the Town of Worthington as well as many surrounding towns. Because of its position at the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, Worthington has become something of a summer colony, with many people maintaining seasonal residence. Atter reaching a low of 462 just after World War II, the Town's population has been increasing with each passing decade.
By 1990, 1200 resided in Worthington, operating local businesses, owning home-based enterprises, and commuting to jobs in nearby Northampton and Amherst. The population remains stable to this day. (continued) (NPS Term 1 10.900 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 8 Page_ 6 Ringville Cemetery Ringville Cemetery lies in the hamlet of Ringville, once the busiest mill and agricultural center in Worthington. The Cemetery's oldest graves, dating as far back as 1814, were moved to this site from the Ireland Street Cemetery in Chesterfield. It is not known with certainty why the ten were moved, although it may have been part of a flood control project.
It is also possible that the Ring family, originally from Chesterfield, arranged for the move, as genealogical data from Chesterfield indicates that members of the Ring, Cole, and Cowing families intermarried. Other than the "Ireland Street Graves" and their stones, the earliest burials in Ringville Cemetery date from the 1840s, which is likely when this land initially began to be used for burial. At least fifteen burials took place in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s from at least five different families. At this time, the land was in private ownership, and likely shared by nearby families for private burial. Four known land transactions between 1866 and 1887 resulted in Ringville Cemetery as it exists today.
The first occurred in 1866, when Ethan Ring of Boston sold approximately 3/4 of an acre of land to the Town of Worthington for "the purpose of a cemetery of graveyard." In 1870, the Pease family sold a tract of land adjacent to the Cemetery on its western side to Lyman Ring to be used privately by his family for their burials. Three years later (1881) the Pease family sold another tract of land west of the Lyman Ring parcel to the Town for the expansion of the Town cemetery. At this point Lyman Ring owned a piece of land between two parcels owned and used by the Town as a public cemetery. It is not surprising that in 1887 he sold much of his tract of land to the Town for public cemetery use, keeping just one plot for his family. The first four land transactions amounted to approximately two acres of land.
The Cemetery appears to have remained at two acres until the 1970s, when the Town purchased approximately one acre of land to the west of the existing Cemetery from Eric Lagerstrom for urther expansion. Today the Cemetery is 3.1 acres in size, the second largest of Worthington's six cemeteries. (continued) NPS Form 1 10900- OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 8 Page Town histories and site visits have revealed that the remains of several people of local significance lie in Ringville Cemetery. These include many members of the Ring family, for whom the hamlet was named in the 1800s. Elkanah and Thomas Ring were brothers born in the neighboring town of Chesterfield in the early 1800s.
In 1830 they purchased an existing but unused mill in the central part of Worthington, converting it to a factory which produced window curtains. The business was successful, and the Rings expanded into the manufacture of baby carriages, sleds and bedsteads. According to Papers on the History of Worthington, "the business prospered, the little hamlet grew, and was the center of activity." The area came to be known as Ringville in honor of the brothers, who had created an economic prosperity enjoyed by many other Worthington citizens. In addition to his entrepreneurial success, Elkanah Ring also served as a town selectman and a representative to revise the State Constitution in 1860. Multiple members of this highly significant local family, including Elkanah and Thomas Ring, are buried in Ringville Cemetery.
One of Worthington's most famous citizens is Russell Conwell, a minister and educator who founded Philadelphia's Temple University and Samaritan Hospital. Russell was born in Worthington in 1843 to parents Martin and Maranda Conwell. The second of four children, Conwell's parents instilled in him the value of education as well as the importance of racial tolerance. Martin Conwell was a staunch supporter of the anti-slavery movement, and the Conwell house in Worthington was a stop on the Underground Railway. Both John Brown and Frederick Douglass also visited Martin Conwell in his Worthington home. While Russell Conwell is buried in Philadelphia, his parents, Martin and Maranda, and older brother Charles, are buried in Ringville Cemetery. The Thrasher family has long inhabited and shaped the Ringville/South Worthington area.
Initially settling here during the 1800s, members of the Thrasher family owned most of the land that today comprises South Worthington. Thrasher Hill Road, which runs through this area, is a reminder of their strong presence in South Worthington. During the 1800s multiple members of the family farmed their South Worthington holdings, and Isaac Thrasher owned and operated a saw mill, both typical occupations of Worthington residents during this time period. In the early 1900s Hattie Thrasher served as the Town's postmistress and operated a store out of her home, a tradition carried on by subsequent members of this family well into the 20* century. The last of (continued) (PPSPom 1 19900- United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 - National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MÀ Section number 8 Page 8 - he Worthington Thrashers, Hattie's son Guy, ran a roadside stand in Ringville into the 1990s Mudied yens and are f Tried aers ingritha Ce cheryistory of this community for the past twc Ringville Cemetery holds 35 veterans, representing Worthington's participation in the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Elkanah Ring, discussed earlier, served as a Captain in the Civil War. While the earliest days of Ringville Cemetery remain something of a mystery, its historical significance lies in the fact that it reflects the growth of the hamlet itself in the mid-1800s. This was the era during which Ringville came into existence, a result of the successful mills and businesses established here during the 1800s.
The many marble and brownstone obelisks of Ringville Cemetery reflect the economic success of the Rings and Thrashers and other entrepreneurial families. These families, along with the abolitionist Conwell family, have Archaeological Significance Since patterns of ancient Native American settlement in Worthington are poorly understood, any surviving sites could be significant. Ancient sites in this area may contribute important information relating to patterns of Native American subsistence and settlement activities in the Berkshire uplands of Western Massachusetts in general and specifically along tributary streams of the Westfield River.
Ancient Native American sites in this area may contain information that were analogous with Native socio-political boundaries at different points in ancient history and the Contact Period Historic archaeological resources described above have the potential to contribute important information relating to the evolution of the Ringville Cemetery and detailed information on the changing social, cultural and economic characteristics that typified many of the inhabitants that lived in a rural New England agricultural and mill village that evolved in the 18th and 1gth (continued) NP8Perm110900-e Nationa Fark Devartment of the Interior National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 8 Page 9 centuries in a river valley in the foothills of the Green Mountains of western Massachusetts.
Structural evidence from outbuildings may contribute information relating to maintenance activities at the cemetery and facilities associated with funerary activities such as a hearse barn or mausoleum. Archaeological testing might also recover evidence of post-holes, walls and gates which, when mapped may help reconstruct cemetery boundaries and family burial areas. Archaeological evidence of unmarked graves may help reconstruct burial patterns within the cemetery and the treatment of deceased paupers and other indigent persons by the town and local community. Osteological studies of skeletal remains in marked and unmarked graves may contribute important information on the general health and pathologies that effected inhabitants in the town from the period of initial settlement and later.
This information may reflect differences in health and medical treatment based on social, cultural or economic groupings. Artifacts recovered from graves and their general proximity may also contribute information relating to the social, cultural and economic characteristics of individuals and groups. Fragments and complete gravestones may contain stylistic traits that represent particular religious, ethnic or other social groupings. Other characteristics of gravestones may indicate the economic class of individuals. Artifacts related to memorial services or grave offerings can also contribute much of the above information. Taken as a whole, the above information can contribute a wealth of information on the evolution and inhabitants of the Ringville Cemetery.
Information obtained through archaeological research may also help fill the documentary void that exists relating to when the cemetery was founded and its early evolution. (end) Ringville Cemetery Name of Property 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property 2.4 Acres UTM References See continuation sheet. (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1.18 671640 4692780 Zone Easting Northing "Zone Easting Northing Hampshire County, Massachusetts County and State 3. Zone Easting 4. Zone Easting - See continuation sheet Northing Northing Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 11. Form Prepared By name/title__Martha H. Lyon, ASLA, Proprietor, with Betsy Friedberg, NR Director, MHC organization.
Massachusetts Historical Commission _ date December 2003 street & number_220 Morrissey Boulevard telephone _617.727.8470 city or town Boston stateMA _ zip code_02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's locatior i sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resource hotograph epresentative black and white photographs of the property Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) name Iown of Worthington street & number Iown Hall, P. O.
Box 247, Huntington Road _ telephone_413.238.5577 city or townWorthington _ state_MA _ zip code 01098 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O.
Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. NPS Torm 1 10.900- Nationa Park Servicrtment of the Interior National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number9 Page OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA 9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Books Bartlett, Elsie V., A Handbook of Questions and Answers Relating to the History of Worthington, Massachusetts. Burr, Clement F., Notes on Early Settlers from List in Rice's History. 1978. Conwell, Russell H., Acres of Diamonds. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1915. Forbes, Harriette Merrifield. Gravestones of Early New England and the Men who Made Them, 1853-1800. Boston: Riverside Press of Houghton Mifflin, 1927 (reprint 1955).
Foster, Apthorp F., ed., Vital Records of Worthington Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Boston: The New England Historic Genealogical Society at the Charge of the Eddy Town-Record Fund, 1911. Johnson, Clifton, Historic Hampshire in the Connecticut Valley. Springfield: Milton Bradley Company. Ludwig, Allan, Graven Images: New England Stonecarving and its Symbols, 1650-1815. Hanover, NH: University of Press of New England, 1966 (Third edition by Wesleyan University Press, 1999). Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, Historic Cemeteries Preservation Initiative, Preservation Guidelines for Municipally Owned Historic Burial Grounds and Cemeteries. Boston: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, 2000. (continued) (NPS Torm 1 10.900- OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number9 Page 2_ Moody, Rev. George Reed, The South Worthington Parish, South Worthington, Massachusetts, 1899-1905. Rice, James C., J. H. Bisbee, and C. K. Brewster, History of the Town of Worthington, From Its First Settlement to 1874. Springfield: Clark W. Bryan & Company, 1874. Town of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, History and Genealogy of the Families of Chesterfield, Massachusetts. Chesterfield: Town of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, 1963(?). Western Hampshire Board of Trade, The Western Hampshire Highlands, Massachusetts. Springfield: F. A. Bassette Company, 1912.
Wikander, Lawrence E., Terry Wikander, Helen Wikander, Mark Kiley, The Hampshire History: Celebrating 300 Years of Hampshire County Massachusetts. Northampton: Hampshire County Commissioners, 1964. Worthington Historical Society, Papers on the History of Worthington (Out of the Vault, Into the Hands of the People). Easthampton: Pioneer Valley Printing Company, 1983. Public Documents Hampshire County Registry of Deeds, Book #239, p. 189, 1866. Hampshire County Registry of Deeds, Book #272, p. 6, 1870. Hampshire County Registry of Deeds, Book #364, p. 495, 1881. Hampshire County Registry of Deeds, Book #410, p. 37, 1887. Town of Worthington Town Reports, 1886-1965. (continued) (PSPorm 1 19-900-4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number_9 Page_ 3 OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 - Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Maps & Atlases (Arranged by Date Published) 1795. Jonathan Brewster, Matthew Warner and Jonathan Woodbridge, Plan of the Town of Worthington, created by Selectmen and Committee of Worthington. 1830. Hitchcock Series, Old Hampshire County Town Plans. 1860. H. F. Walling, Atlas of Hampshire County. 1871. 1871. H. F. Walling & O. W. Gray, Official Topographical Atlas of Massachusetts from Astronomical, Trigonometrical and Various Local Services. Stedman, Brown and Lyon, publishers. 1873. F. W. Beers, County Atlas of Hampshire Massachusetts. F. W. Beers & Co., publishers, New York, NY. 1922. E. E. Davis, CE, County Roads in Hampshire County. Arthur G.
Capen, Map of Worthington, Massachusetts with the Places of Residence of the First Inhabitants of the Town (drawn from a map of Hampshire County published in Town of Worthington, Massachusetts (map enlarged from U. S. Topographic Map, in Worthington Historical Society Collection). Lois Ashe Brown, Town of Worthington. 1970. Albert J. Platt, Survey of the County Highway from Williamstown to Westfield as it PassesThrough Chester. 1974. Plot Layout of Ringville Cemetery. 1989. Ringville Annex, preliminary sketch. 2000. Assessor's Maps for the Town of Worthington, Map #412. Other Sources Act of Committee for Disposing of Cemetery Lots (records of the cemetery committee), 1975- 1933. "Clan Chronicles, Worthington, 1888" (pictoral book containing a photograph of the grave of Anna Randall, d. 1803). (continued) NPS Form 1 10-900-a 8-86) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 9 Page_4 - Drinkwater, Robert. "Early Gravestones in Chesterfield, Massachusetts: A Guide to Stonecutters and Their Work" (unpublished paper, 1986). Feakes, Frank. Personal interview, April 29, 2001. Feakes, Marcia. Personal interview, April 29, 2001. List of Soldiers (unpublished list, compiled by the local Boy Scouts, date unknown). Porter, Daniel R., "Family Life in Early Worthington" (unpublished remarks delivered to the Worthington Historical Society, August 26, 2000). Porter, Daniel R., "The Brewsters of Worthington" (unpublished paper, date unknown). Porter, Daniel R., "The John Watts Story in Worthington" (unpublished paper, date unknown).
Porter, Daniel R., "The Porters of Worthington and Cummington" (unpublished paper), 1999. Updated 2000. Porter, Edward. Personal interviews, April 20 and April 29, 2001. Scrapbooks of the Town of Worthington, Massachusetts compiled by Arthur G. Capen. Volumes 1-6. Slater, James A., "The Colonial Burying Grounds of Eastern Connecticut and the Men Who Made Them." Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts & Sciences, Volume XXI, July 1987. Town of Worthington, Bicentennial, 1768-1968: Souvenir Program and Historical Brochure. Worthington: Worthington Bicentennial Committee, 1968. Unidentified black & white photograph, Ringville Cemetery. Date unknown, Collection of the Worthington Historical Society. (continued) NPS Form 1 10.900-n United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA Section number 9/10 Page_5/1 Worthington Cemetery Notebook (contains maps and gravestone inventories for the Parker Four Corners and Almon Johnson Road Cemeteries. (end) 10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA Verbal Boundary Description Town of Worthington Assessor's Map #412, Lot 5. Boundary Justification The nominated property includes the entire 3.1-acre parcel assembled by the Town of Worthington that it historically associated with Ringville Cemetery. (end) INPS Perm 1 10900 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number photo Page OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Ringville Cemetery Worthington (Hampshire), MA LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS #1: #2: #3: #4: The fieldstone wall retaining the north side of Ringville Cemetery. Photograph taken looking east.
Stone steps leading from Witt Hill Road to Ringville Cemetery. Photograph taken looking south. The Blair Vault, constructed of granite, brick and iron, c. 1927. Photograph taken from Witt Hill Road looking south. The interior of Ringville Cemetery taken from the western edge, looking east. NPS Form 1 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number_Photos_Page 2 PHOTOGRAPH LOCATIONS AARESEE EERS COUAT, MSSACHUSETTS CEMETERY PHOTOGRAPHS APPROXIMATE SCALE: 1* = 100 NORTH #3 WITT HILL ROAD NON-CONTRIBUTING SECTION 1#2 OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 Ringville Cemetery WATTS STREAM (NP9 Form 1 10.900a United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number _Page_ DATA LOCATIONS SONETO MTEE COMT, MESNONUET CEMETERY DATA APPROXIMATE SCALE: 1* = 100' NORTH WITT HILL ROAD NON-CONTRIBUTING SECTION OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Ringville Cemetery -5 WATTS STREAM RINGVILLE CEMETERY WORTHINGTON, HAMPSHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS DATA SHEET* Number 1 Historic Name Perimeter Wall Type Landscape Feature 2 Sugar Maple Allee 3 Circulation System Landscape Feature Cart Path 4 5 Stone Steps (area of Ireland Street graves) Jonathan Higgins Landscape Feature 6 Headstone Headstone Hiram Taylor Thomas & Elkanah Ring Monument 8 Martin Conwell Headstone 9 Maranda Conwell Headstone 10 Charles H.
Conwell Headstone 11 12 13 14 Consider Cole Headstone Blair Vault Structure Thrasher Monument Guy Thrasher Flush Marker 15 Cowing Family Monument 16 Adams Family Monument *Data Sheet provides a representative sampling of features at Ringville Cemetery. Material Field Stone Plant Turf/Dirt Stone Marble Marble Brownstone Marble Marble Marble Marble Granite/Stone/Iron Granite Granite Marble Marble Page 1 of 1 Resource Structure Objects Structure Structure Object Object Object Object Object Object Object Building Object Object Object Object Date Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 1869 1872 1868 1874 1877 1869 1814 c.
1927 1885 1985 1879 1894 Status C C C C C C C C C C C UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME: Ringville Cemetery MULTIPLE NAME : STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Hampshire DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 12/29/03 2/11/04 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 1/27/04 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 2/11/04 REFERENCE NUMBER: 04000024 REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: NLESS THAN 50 YEARS: PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: COMMENT WAIVER: N VACCEPT RETURN REJECT 2:11.04 DATE ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: Intered in the National Register RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER DISCIPLINE TELEPHONE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N If a nomination is returned to the nominating authority, the nomination is no longer under consideration by the NPS.
PHOTO#| RINGVILLE (EMETERU WOETHINGTON, HAMPEHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUVETTS PHOPORAPAER MARIHAH.WJON, J0Ny 2001 FIELGTONE WALL RETAINING THE NORTH SAVE OF PINOVILLE CMETEKU FHOTOGKAPH TAKEN HOOKING ENA. HH010#2 KINDVILE LEMETERU WORTHINGTON, HANDPHIRE COVNTU, NASSACHUEENTS PHOTOURATHER: MARTHAH. WON, Jüng 2001 GTONE STOPS VEAVING FROM WITT HILL KOND TO FANKVILLE CEMETERY. PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN LOOKING GFUTH. PRESENTED BY CLARAD BLAIR IN MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND DAVID BLAIR 770T0#3: EINGVIUE CENETER WORTHINGTON, HANFGHIRE COUNTY, NVMAHUETTS PHOMARAYHER: NARTNAH. WON. JUry 2001 THE BLAIK VAULT, C. 19Z7. PHOTOURARA TAKEN LOOKING GOUTH. PHOTO#4 RINOVIUE CEMETERU WORTHINUTON, HANFSHIRE COUNTY. NSAHUSETTS AHTOARAPHER: NARTHA H. WON, JUNY 2001. THE INTERIUK OF RINENIULE CENNETERY, TAKEN PRUN THE WEGTERN ETLE LOOKINGEAGT.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission December 23, 2003 Ms. Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Vational Park Service 1201Eye Street, NW 8"* floor Washington, DC 20005 RECEIVED 2280 DEC 2 9 2003 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed please find the following nomination form: Ringville Cemetery, Worthington (Hampshire Co.), MA The nomination has been voted eligible by the State Review Board and has been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. The owners of the property were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30 to 45 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment.
CES Sincerely, Betey Trealer Betsy Friedberg National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission enclosure CC: Beverly Smith, Worthington Historical Commission Christopher Powell, Chair, Select Board Martha Lyon - Paysage, Preservation Consultant J.P. Welch, Worthington Cemetery Commission Jack Millman, Planning Director 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 (617) 727-8470 - Fax: (617) 727-5128 www.state.ma.us/sec/mhc
Block