SPRINGFIELD — For the 10th year, the Springfield Preservation Trust will host its “Voices from the Grave” tour at the Springfield Cemetery on Oct. 15.

Docents will lead attendees on a winding walking tour through the cemetery’s pathways and features, while learning about significant people in Springfield history and the intriguing cemetery residents. The hour-long experience will also have costumed interpreters speaking about each person of interest.

There will be five tours departing every 15 minutes starting at 1 p.m. at the Springfield Cemetery, 171 Maple St. The last tour will be at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $14 for Springfield Preservation Trust members and $18 for non-members. Members are asked to contact the trust for a discount code.

Tickets can be purchased online at VoicesFromTheGrave2023.eventbrite.com, or in person with cash on the day of the event — subject to availability. Space is limited and registration is encouraged, as the event typically sells out.

The tour was created by Preservation Trust Secretary Michael Stevens, who continues to research cemetery residents annually for the event.

“Once known as Peabody Cemetery, the Springfield Cemetery is one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the city of Springfield,” said the Preservation Trust. “Despite being located in the heart of the city, the cemetery itself was designed in the landscape tradition of the rural cemetery with sloping hills and meandering paths through the graves that date back to the first burial in 1841. Stones, tablets and remains dating to 1664 were relocated from the Old First Church shortly after the opening of the cemetery.”

The Trust has added a second Springfield Cemetery tour to its calendar this year, the “Springfield Cemetery Architecture & Symbolism Tour,” on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. The tour will highlight some of the “unique” and “architecturally interesting artifacts” in the cemetery, sharing the significance behind some of the most common — and not so common — symbols of death and mourning, the Trust said.

To learn more about the Springfield Preservation Trust’s upcoming events, visit springfieldpreservation.org, springfieldpreservation.eventbrite.com or find them on Facebook.
Interested sponsors can contact Kira Holmes at advocacy@springfieldpreservation.org.

For additional questions, contact info@springfieldpreservation.org.

The Springfield Preservation Trust was founded in 1972. The nonprofit and non-government advocacy group for historic preservation in Springfield works to preserve and protect Springfield properties that have architectural or historic significance.