When Capt. John Borland purchased a large plot of land during the latter part of the18th century (in 1798 he was taxed for one house and 500 acres of land in Nobleboro), he owned the land extending from Great Salt Bay to about a mile north of the cemetery location, most of the land on the Nobleboro side of Damariscotta Mills. This land included an “old burying ground.” The locations and identities of these early burials are unknown.
At the rear of the cemetery (the older section) are several graves with unmarked field stones, including graves for men believed to be Revolutionary War veterans. The earliest known burial date is 1809 for Pamela Bryant, born 1795 (14 years), according to a 1976 report by the Maine Old Cemeteries Association. The actual location of her burial is not known, but indicated as “probably lot 155.”
Sally Grant, daughter of Capt. John and Sally Borland, died in 1805; however, the Borland family was originally interred in the tomb across the street in GR-62, but later removed to a lot in the Highland Cemetery.
In 1850 Joseph Haines, a merchant in the Mills, started working to have a cemetery for the residents of that area. He thought that the old burying ground, where there had been almost 40 burials since that of Pamela Bryant, would be an excellent location.
On Jan. 8, 1851, Haines purchased the old burying ground (1.25 acres with an access road) from Capt. John’s son Samuel for $150. The deed stated that the Ladies Sewing Circle of Damariscotta Mills was to be responsible for assigning (selling?) lots to the “inhabitants of Damariscotta Mills village in Nobleboro and Newcastle and their heirs.” This cemetery was named the Union Cemetery and the Union Cemetery Corp. was established to attend to the cemetery business.
In May 1873 another acre of land between the existing cemetery and the road was purchased from Thomas Hayes for $147. (Hayes had acquired the remaining Borland land the previous year from Samuel’s widow Betsey.) This new section was laid out in orderly fashion for sale to Damariscotta Mills families.
On July 18, 1910, the association was reincorporated as the Highland Cemetery Association of Nobleboro, Maine, and the cemetery was renamed Highland Cemetery (a reference to its location atop Borland Hill).
Upkeep of the cemetery has been a concern of the cemetery association since it was established. Initially lot owners and their descendants cared for their lots so income beyond that from the sale of lots was not needed. Association records from 1873-1907 show that $5-$10 a year in additional income was received for the privilege of harvesting the hay in the cemetery.
In later years an annual mowing bee was organized and volunteers gathered to clear the graveyard, with the incentive of a dinner at noon at the nearby Methodist church. Additional mowings and maintenance were done only on lots with perpetual care provisions or by family members.
As expenses increased and volunteer interest decreased, lot prices were increased and an annual assessment was charged. Association membership dwindled and assessment income was negligible. The cemetery, especially the old section at the back, suffered from neglect.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s the association’s efforts to increase interest in the care of the cemetery had minimal response within the community. The treasury was inadequate to keep up with mowing and trimming, headstone maintenance, and obligations for perpetual care and veterans.
In 1995 a group of 16 citizens met to revive the cemetery association. Bob Sawyer was elected president and Barbara Pinkham secretary/treasurer. The group worked on consolidating financial accounts and sought financial assistance from the town, the Nobleboro Historical Society, and individuals for headstone repair. Brush was cut and cleared with help from Lincoln Academy students as well as the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. By 1999 it was again possible to mow the cemetery yard.
Sawyer also completed a computer layout of the cemetery lots and a listing of all the “Highland residents.”
Sawyer has now retired from his position and has handed the leadership over to Mark Becker. Funding the annual mowing (several times a summer) remains a challenge, as does the actual mowing, as the ground is quite uneven, especially in the old section.
Becker’s goal is to increase community involvement. A cleanup day is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10, with a rain or funeral date of Oct. 17. If anyone would like to help, work will start at 8 a.m. Bring cutters, loppers, chainsaws, pickup trucks, trailers, string mowers, rakes, etc. Contact Becker at 380-7996 or mcbecker250@gmail.com for questions or additional details.
There are approximately 800 burials in the Highland Cemetery in 219 lots. This series of articles will highlight only a couple families buried here. The Highland Cemetery Association has a list of those buried here, including lot number.
There are still some lots available, but not many. Contact Mark Becker, chair of the association, for information.
The information in this column was researched by the late George F. Dow, Nobleboro town historian, and recorded in his cemetery notebook, which is kept on file at the Nobleboro Historical Society building, and compiled by Laurie McBurnie, a member of the Nobleboro Cemetery Committee.
The Highland Cemetery Association booklet was an additional source of information for this article.
Members of the cemetery committee have updated Dow’s original descriptions and directions. Additional information has also been taken from “Old Bristol and Nobleboro, Maine Vital Records” (also one of Dow’s sources) as well as Dow’s two Nobleboro history books.
As the vast majority of Nobleboro’s 85 cemeteries are located on private property, specific directions will not be included in this column out of respect to the landowners. If an individual would like information as to the location of a cemetery, for family or historical purposes, please contact either the Nobleboro Cemetery Committee (L. McBurnie, lauriemmcb@gmail.com, 563-5347) or the Nobleboro Historical Society (Mary Sheldon, 563-5376).
