Great views and Bad stones The Old Burying Ground in New Harbor Maine is very old indeed. The oldest stones I saw were around 1734 but I have heard that the graves actually extend far beyond the stone walls that were built around the cemetery in 1874. Lot of people buried here were killed in the fierce and brutal battles between the early settlers and the Natives Americans in the 17th century and stones that date back to the 1650s have been discovered’ The graveyard is in a beautiful location that gives wonderful views of the harbor and water. The stone walls surround most of the memorials but archaeological digs are usually going on in the summer and are always finding new graves and stones in the area. Many of the stones were made by the Joseph Sikes family of stone cutters They had a reputation of putting bizarre, morbid and intricate designs on their stones. Unfortunately they also frequently used very soft local stone so now many of the memorials are worn or wearing away quickly. The designs on many of the graves are fascinating. Death heads, bizarre angels, strange plants and other appropriately lugubrious motifs decorate the gravestones, Definitely gives a very ancient and spooky feel to the cemetery. Not a huge graveyard by modern standards but the wonderful, peaceful and lovely location combined with the ancient history and very macabre designs makes this one of the coolest old graveyards I have yet been to.
