Harmony Grove Cemetery Salem

06/02/2026

For the first time in its almost 186-year history, Harmony Grove Cemetery is co-hosting a Death Café. Join Meg Nichols of Community Death Care Services at the Blake Memorial Chapel of Harmony Grove Cemetery on Thursday, June 18, from 6:00–8:00 PM for an evening of honest, thoughtful conversation about one of life’s most universal experiences: death and dying.

What is a Death Café? It is an opportunity to gather and talk openly about experiences with death and grief in a group-directed conversation. It is intended as a space for discussion and aims to help reduce stigma around conversations about mortality. Please note that it is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session.

📍 Harmony Grove Cemetery, Blake Chapel, 30 Grove Street, Salem, MA
📅 Thursday, June 18, 2026
⏰ 6:00–8:00 PM
☕ Free event | Tea & treats will be served
🎟️ Registration requested; space is limited.

REGISTER HERE: https://www.communitydcs.com/events/death-cafe-6-18-26

To learn more about Community Death Care Services, visit their website: https://www.communitydcs.com/

05/25/2026

Today, we honor and remember those who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Below is an excerpt from “Our Soldiers’ Graves” by Salem native Jones Very (1813–1880), written for the early observance of the holiday then known as “Decoration Day” in the aftermath of the Civil War. The poem still resonates today, reminding us that remembrance matters, that history is not only something we read or study, but something we carry forward through acts of commemoration, reflection, and gratitude for those who sacrificed in the ongoing pursuit of liberty and equality for all.

“Our Soldiers' Graves", by Jones Very
Strew all their graves with flowers,
They for their country died;
And freely gave their lives for ours,
Their country’s hope and pride.
[…]
Bring flowers of early spring
To deck each soldier’s grave,
And summer’s fragrant roses bring—
They died our land to save.

05/23/2026

Coming up at Harmony Grove Cemetery: “Buried Treasures,” a guided walking tour presented by Jim McAllister. Join us to explore the stories of some of the cemetery's permanent residents.

📅Sunday, June 14, 2026, at 1:00 PM
📍 Harmony Grove Cemetery, 30 Grove St, Salem, MA

For more information, go to https://www.harmonygrovesalem.org/visit/events
🎟️ To register: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/9_mskFNE6t2JObs4uOe4xA

05/21/2026

You know Memorial Day weekend is getting close when the cemetery ATV is looking like a patriotic parade float 🇺🇸 Planting season is underway!

05/20/2026

The heat advisory is still up today, and this smart squirrel has the right ideas: find some shade, take plenty of breaks, and stretch out on a cool surface if that’s an option where you are (probably not at the office).
Stay cool out there! 🌳🆒🪭

📸 Photo by our Cemetery Administrator

05/11/2026

We’re thrilled that our program, “From City Hall to Sacred Ground: Honoring Salem’s First Mayor Leverett Saltonstall and Those Who Followed,” was featured on the front page of Monday’s Salem News!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special event, which included a lecture on Salem’s first mayor, Leverett Saltonstall, presented by Peter Drummey, Massachusetts Historical Society Chief Historian Emeritus, and the debut of a new self-guided tour highlighting all 21 Salem mayors laid to rest at the cemetery.

Special thanks to Peter Drummey; Bob and Jen Strom, who filled the chapel with traditional songs; our guest interpreters Jim McAllister, Chris Burke, and Abigail Stewart from the Historic New England's Phillips House; and our Board of Trustees. We are also deeply grateful to the Community Relations Committee, whose vision and dedication brought this event to life.

We extend our heartfelt thanks as well to the Friends of Greenlawn Cemetery and the Friends of Broad Street Cemetery, who participated and shared helpful information and handouts about Salem’s mayors buried at those historic sites.

Did you miss the event? The self-guided tour featuring all 21 mayors will remain available throughout the year. Visitors are welcome to explore at their own pace anytime the cemetery is open, 7 a.m. to Sunset. Tour maps are available at the cemetery office (Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM) and on our website: harmonygrovesalem.org/visit/events
📸 Photos by Franco Cutietta
📰 Link to Salem News’ article: https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/harmony-grove-cemetery-launches-new-walking-tour-of-mayors-gravesites/article_2c33d01b-42bd-4a34-90f8-18505ea0a9ba.html

05/07/2026

A little burst of color tucked into the apple blossoms: the Baltimore orioles have arrived at the Cemetery! 🌸 🧡

02/01/2026

Today, February 1, marks the beginning of Black History Month and the birthday of abolitionist and Harmony Grove resident Charles Lenox Remond (1810–1873).

The son of free Black parents John and Nancy Remond, he was among the first African American lecturers to publicly speak against slavery at a time when Black voices were systematically excluded.

Remond joined the antislavery movement age 17 and, by 1834, was a member of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and a life member of the American Anti-Slavery Society. An outstanding orator, he traveled across the U.S. and Europe, attended the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention in London (1840), and in 1842 became the first African American to address the MA state legislature, protesting racial discrimination on trains and steamboats.

Remond’s words continue to speak to justice, moral accountability, and social transformation. We invite you to revisit his works, including his 1857 speech “An Anti-Slavery Discourse” and many more on BlackPast website.

He died in 1873 and is buried in his family lot on Cypress Avenue.

📷 Daguerreotype by Samuel Broadbent, 1851. Boston Public Library Collection.

By 1857 “Bleeding Kansas’ and the Dred Scott Decision had intensified sectional tensions over slavery and moved the nation closer to civil war. Against that backdrop, Charles Lenox Remond, on July 10, 1857, addressed the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society where he joined a growing chorus of abol...

01/30/2026

We’re excited to share that a beautiful photo of Harmony Grove Cemetery was selected for the People’s Choice Award in the 2025 Essex National Heritage Area Photo Contest! 📸

Huge congrats to James for capturing this amazing shot, and also shoutout to all the talented photographers featured in the contest! 💓

Voting is open until February 6, 5:00pm, and if you’re as in love with this fall scenery as we are, go show some support to James’s photo, “Harmony Grove,” with a like on Essex Heritage Facebook! 🍁
https://www.facebook.com/share/17VxCVzsgx/?mibextid=wwXIfr&direct_share_include_copy=1&fb_entity_type=newsfeed

"Harmony Grove" by James Eric Rogers taken in Salem

12/21/2025

Happy Winter Solstice! ❄️🕯️
Today marks the first (official) day of winter, and with it the shortest day and the longest night of the year.
✨This glowing view from last winter reminds us that brighter days are on the way: by New Year’s, we’ll have already gained some daylight 🔆

📸 Photo by Mark Liptak