Town Historian Mary Donohue and Eagle Scout candidate Andrew Rana collaborated for a tour of the Old Center Cemetery Burying Yard.

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford Town Historian Mary Donohue has been developing a unique commemoration of West Hartford’s contributions to the country’s, and earlier this year debuted the first of three planned brochures – a guide to “Notables and Memorials” in Fairview Cemetery. For the second brochure, she took on the task of creating a guide to the town’s oldest cemetery, the Old Center Burying Ground.

“It was exciting and interesting to find out more about West Hartford’s founding families. Many had direct experience with the American Revolution,” Donohue said.

This time Donahue had a partner – Andrew Rana, then a freshman at Hall High School – who for his Eagle Scout project created a virtual tour that augments the printed brochure.

The self-guided tours are one of the initiatives of West Hartford’s America 250 Task Force, which included a series of educational and cultural programs focused on and celebrating the town’s unique contributions to the state as well as the nation leading up to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Donohue, who was appointed to her role as town historian in June 2025 when the task force was already deep into its planning work, found a way to incorporate her expertise and background from her previous work for the Ancient Burying Ground Association in downtown Hartford.

Donohue had already done research on the Old Center Burying Ground in 2002, when the site was nominated for addition to the National Register of Historic Places.

At 307 years old, Old Center Burying Yard, located at 34 North Main Street, is the town’s oldest cemetery, and is listed on the National and State Historic Registers as well as the Connecticut Freedom Trail. The first section opened in 1719, the brochure states, and while at one time there were 136 gravestones, by 2001 only 100 were visible, lost perhaps to vandalism as well as erosion of the brownstone markers. As she worked to create the brochure, Donohue spent many more hours at the cemetery, working to identify those named in the remaining gravestones.

There’s a “private” section, where plots, some featuring obelisks – identify the names of families recognizable today in the names of buildings and roads in town, such as Stanley, Talcott, Whitman, Keeney, and Whiting.

In the main portion of the cemetery, the tour and brochure highlight the graves of other iconic former residents, including Sarah Whitman Hooker and the parents of Noah Webster.

One of the most notable headstones is in the northwest corner of the cemetery – that of Bristol (aka Bristow) – the namesake of Bristow Middle School and a former enslaved man believed to have purchased his freedom in 1775. Surrounding the central gravestone, which is actually a replica of the original that has been preserved, are 60 Witness Stones commemorating other enslaved former West Hartford residents. Former West Hartford Town Historian Tracey Wilson, together with fellow retired history teachers Liz Devine and Denise deMello, launched the Witness Stones project in 2018, working with local students to research and share the untold history of of the town’s enslaved persons. Although Wilson passed away in 2025, work on the project continues as “Hidden History,” and additional information can be found on the Noah Webster House website.

“It was also great to connect the cemetery’s history to new digital resources, such as Dr. Tracy Wilson’s website documenting enslaved and enslavers from West Hartford’s earliest history. One thing I hope the visitor notices is the artistry of the stone carvers in the Colonial period,” Donohue said.

A ceremony marking the release of the brochure and the installation of Rana’s virtual tour a few weeks ago was attended by Donohue, Rana, members of the West Hartford African American Social & Cultural Organization (WHAASCO), Town Manager Rick Ledwith, West Hartford Employee Development & Community Engagement Manager Adrienne Billings-Smith, Ryan Coursey of YHB Investment Advisors, which donated the funds for printing the brochures, and others.

“African and English, rich and poor, men, women, and children – their stories are here,” Donohue said, noting how remarkable it is that in more than 300 years, nothing has been built on the site located just outside West Hartford Center.

Members of the public can learn more about the cemetery by following the printed brochure, or can take the virtual tour created by Rana that’s launched through the QR code posted by the entrance gate. West Hartford’s Department of Public Works installed the post with the signage for the tour, and also installed the numbered markers that correspond to stops on the tour with historical information about the individuals buried in that area.

Donohue expressed her gratitude for the contributions by Rana, and named him her “very first West Hartford History Hero” in recognition of his contributions, and presented him with the book “Life in West Hartford,” which was published by Wilson, her predecessor. Rana, who is planning a career in engineering, will be a sophomore at Hall High School this fall, is a member of BSA Troop 163, a former winner of the town-wide spelling bee, and also plays euphonium with the concert band, sings bass in an a capella choir, and is a member of the Hall Robotics club and the Westmoor 4-H club.

To view a digital copy of the Old Center Burial Yard and Fairview Cemetery brochures by Mary Donohue, click here. https://www.westhartfordct.gov/town-departments/fairview-cemetery/historical-guides

The Old Center Cemetery virtual tour created by Andrew Rana can be found here.

Donohue is working on one more brochure, for the Old North Cemetery, and that should be completed in the next few weeks.

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