History

The Town of Wolfeboro was incorporated on August. 21,1770. The Lakeview Cemetery was probably pasture land on that date, and was first used as a cemetery, according to existing stones, a scant sixteen years later. Our Cemetery, its beginnings originating from the burial necessities of the early Wolfeboro residents, began just like all of the old New England cemeteries of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: a concerned citizen donated his land for the burial needs of the community. Thus the Lakeview Cemetery was created from the land that borders North Main Street.

A visit to the "Old Yard" involves a peaceful meandering through the resting places of the early settlers of Wolfeboro. This Section includes the oldest grave in Wolfeboro, belonging to Ann Parker, who died in 1786. She was the wife of Mathew Parker, a relative of John Parker, the original proprietor of "THE NECK".

As the population of Wolfeboro grew, so did the boundaries of the Lakeview Cemetery. The "New Yard" was added south of the "Old Yard" and was followed on the easterly down slope of the land by the Goodhue1 and Goodhue2 Additions.

The year 1905 marked the creation of the Lakeview Cemetery as a nonprofit corporation. The "Founding Fathers"; Parker, Folsom, Martin, Eaton, Goodwin, Furber, and Meader were all familiar names in Wolfeboro. These men had the foresight to organize a one hundred nine year old Community Cemetery into an institution that could sustain itself well into the future. The "City on the Hill", as the Cemetery was called, was indeed a beautiful place for the interment of loved ones.

In later years a Chapel, a Tomb, and a flag pole with landscaped oval were added to the Cemetery. The Chapel is a beautiful building with the capability to offer a service of respectful remembrance for the passing of a loved one. The Tomb holds caskets waiting for Spring interment. The flag pole is surrounded by perennial garden beds and is the gift of Henry P. Valley, who is buried in sight of his gift in the Goodhue II Addition.

As the burial needs of the Cemetery grew during the Twentieth Century, the Avery Addition was added. This is a beautiful piece of property extending south from the Chapel and overlooking the majestic summit of Copple Crown Mountain.

The Cemetery is currently administered, by the dedicated efforts of a volunteer Board of Directors.