Property Alterations
From 1850 to 1891 various small parcels of land were added to the original grounds. In 1891 the Merriam Farm on Onota Street was purchased for $17,200. This new area comprised of about 177 acres, extending from Onota Street to Onota Lake. In 1916 the western portion of this tract, about 79 acres, was sold to the City of Pittsfield for $17,145 and to be used as a park. It is now called Burbank Park. The remaining land was surveyed in 1914 by the Olmstead Brothers of Boston and a complete plan was made showing the most practical use of the land for cemetery purposes. In 1897 the land on both sides of Onota Street south of the present cemetery limits was subdivided and sold for building plots. Proceeds from these sales went to the Perpetual Care Endowment Fund.
In 1988 an additional parcel was sold to the City of Pittsfield, after it had been determined that the city built Onota Lake Boulevard on our property not on theirs. After a period of negotiation, the parcel where the road was supposed to go was turned over to the Cemetery in exchange for the already completed Boulevard. Since this 7.5 acre property was of no use to the Cemetery, it was sold to John Wendling for $100,000.
An Onota Expansion on the west side of Onota Street took place over many years and was completed and opened on September 9th, 2000. This added about fifteen acres of developed land to the cemetery’s burial inventory. This opening coincided with the cemetery’s 150th anniversary.