East Part Cemetery
The East Part Cemetery, located on outer Williams Street near the Dalton town line, is now controlled by the Pittsfield Cemetery. The Cemetery was established around 1808 on land owned by Nathan Webb, who permitted and authorized its use as a public burying ground. In 1842 the son of Nathan Webb, also named Nathan Webb, deeded the property to the Methodist Episcopal Society of Pittsfield for use as a public burying ground and for no other purpose.
In 1893 the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Society transferred their control of the cemetery to the Proprietors of the Pittsfield Cemetery and their action was confirmed by the presiding judge of the Berkshire Probate Court. The Cemetery, a little over a half acre of land, contains about 300 interments and approximately 226 memorial stones.
An interesting feature of the cemetery is the memorial erected to the memory of Sarah Deming, the first white woman to live in Pittsfield. Sarah’s daughter Dorothy Deming is also buried in the cemetery and is the first child of a settler born in Pittsfield. There are no available spaces in the Cemetery. According to Cemetery officials, many earlier markers have disintegrated and any attempts to open a new grave would be a mistake.
For all intents and purposes, the East Part Cemetery must be considered Closed.
