Day 233: Mount Hope Cemetery, Mattapan, Massachusetts

📌APIA Every Day (233) - Mount Hope Cemetery serves as Boston's primary municipal cemetery, spanning 125 acres of burial grounds. Originally established as a private cemetery in 1852, it was acquired by the city in 1857. During the Chinese Exclusion era (1870s-1940s), the cemetery designated three sections for Chinese burials near the far end of the grounds, adjacent to the unmarked fields used for indigent burials. These Chinese sections became the final resting place for approximately 1,500 individuals, many of them male sojourners who worked in the United States while supporting families back in China.

Over the decades, the Chinese burial sections suffered considerable deterioration. Tombstones, often made from less durable materials, fell victim to harsh New England weather and vandalism. In response to these declining conditions, community members mobilized in 1989, ultimately establishing the Chinese Historical Society of New England (CHSNE) in 1992. Through their efforts, the organization secured $120,000 in grants, enabling the construction of a new memorial altar in 2007 and launching ongoing restoration initiatives focused on tombstone preservation and landscape enhancement.

Today, Mount Hope Cemetery functions as both an active burial ground and a significant historical site, earning its place on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. CHSNE collaborates with the Parks Department Cemetery Division to develop a comprehensive bilingual database of tombstone information and burial records. The site has also become a valuable resource for academic research, particularly for the University of Massachusetts Boston's Asian American Studies program, which uses the cemetery to examine the historical experiences of Chinese Americans in New England.

LEARN MORE:

National Archives Catalog: Mount Hope Cemtery NRHP Form

Chinese Historical Society of New England: Mount Hope Cemetery

Boston University News Service: Chinese Gravestones at Mount Hope Cemetery Fall Apart

Vita Brevis: Chinese burials in Boston

UMass Boston: Honoring Mt. Hope Cemetery’s Chinese Burial Grounds: Asian American Studies Program with the Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth (CAPAY) and the Chinese Historical Society of New England (CHSNE)

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