Pine Grove Cemetery: Lynn’s history in one walk
A short guide to Pine Grove Cemetery’s 19th‑century landscape, Rhodes Memorial Chapel, notable interments and a walking route, plus office hours and visitor rules.
Inventor Jan Matzeliger, patent-medicine maker Lydia Pinkham and many of the factory owners who made Lynn Shoe City are buried at Pine Grove Cemetery. Here is how the cemetery began, what to look for and a simple route for a walk.
How Pine Grove began
Pine Grove was laid out in the mid‑19th century as a rural cemetery and served as Lynn’s primary public cemetery from about 1850; the city purchased the grounds in 1855, according to the National Register nomination. The plan and subsequent additions reflect 19th‑century cemetery design rather than a simple town burial ground.
Designers, chapel and the stone wall
The cemetery landscape preserves work by several noted designers: Henry A. S. Dearborn’s 1850 plan, a garden by Robert M. Copeland from 1871, and later layouts by Ernest W. Bowditch, the National Register documentation says. A principal architectural feature is Rhodes Memorial Chapel, a late 19th‑century Richardsonian Romanesque building by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge; the NR nomination also notes stained glass inside the chapel. The large stone wall around much of the grounds dates to about 1930 and was built as a WPA project, per the NR documentation.
Who is buried at Pine Grove
The National Register nomination names several significant interments at Pine Grove. Jan Ernst Matzeliger, the inventor of the shoe‑lasting machine, is buried here. Lydia E. Pinkham, known for manufacturing and marketing Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, is also interred at Pine Grove. The NR documentation also lists other prominent industrialists and inventors, such as Elihu Thomson, whose company grew into GE’s River Works plant, and many local shoe manufacturers — a reflection of Lynn’s 19th‑century role as a global shoe‑manufacturing center.
Civil War memorials and the GAR lot
Pine Grove contains a Soldiers’ Monument and a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) veterans’ lot and was a focal point for Civil War commemorations, according to local trails documentation. The GAR lot and related memorials remain visible features on the grounds and are part of the cemetery’s role in veteran remembrance.
A short walking route
Begin at the main gate on Boston Street and take the primary drive inward. Make Rhodes Memorial Chapel your first stop; it is a central architectural marker on the approach. From the chapel, follow the internal roads toward the Soldiers’ Monument and the GAR veterans’ lot, then continue past concentrations of family plots tied to Lynn’s shoe industry to see the range of 19th‑century markers and memorials.
Other entrances and drives that let you make a loop include Parkland Avenue, Springvale Avenue and North Bend Street.
Before you go — office, hours and rules
The City of Lynn handles cemetery records and daily operations through the Department of Public Works; Pine Grove Cemetery administration is managed from the DPW administrative office at 250 Commercial Street. The cemetery office hours published by the city are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8:30 AM–4:00 PM; Tuesday 8:30 AM–8:00 PM; and Friday 8:30 AM–12:30 PM.
City rules list visitor policies you should follow: no dogs; no climbing on monuments; limits on decorations with seasonal removal dates; vehicle and speed limits on cemetery roads; a prohibition on alcohol; and a requirement that unloading or setting monuments take place on weekdays between 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM, among other regulations (City of Lynn rules and regulations). If you need detailed plot information or coordinates, contact the DPW office or the Pine Grove Cemetery Commission for assistance.
Sources: National Register nomination; Trails & Sails; City of Lynn – Pine Grove Cemetery; City of Lynn – Pine Grove Rules & Regulations (office location and hours).
