"This space is not just a burying ground. It is for people to enjoy quiet peace."
Sally D'Aquila
The beautiful spring weather helps fill up local parks. In Middletown, residents walk and picnic at one of the highest points in the city. It's not a park, but a cemetery.
Indian Hill Cemetery is adjacent to Wesleyan University and busy Washington Street in Middletown. But once through the gates, you don't hear the sound of traffic as you climb up hillsides lined with elaborate gravestones and rare trees.
"We have made it a point in the last three years to have our gates open," said Sally D'Aquila, a member of the cemetery association's Board of Trustees. "This space is not just a burying ground. It is for people to enjoy quiet peace."
The group has been working to raise awareness about this unique part of Middletown while gathering support to restore a 148-year-old Gothic Revival chapel on the grounds. The chapel is made of brownstone from the now-closed Portland quarry right across the Connecticut River.
On a recent tour, August DeFrance, secretary and treasurer of the cemetery association, pointed out several impressive mausoleums on the property.
"There is a lot of history here. There's a lot of notables here," DeFrance said. "In the 1800s, the barons of Middletown -- the people who did all the manufacturing; the China trade."
One of Middletown's prominent residents was entrepreneur Samuel Russell. His widow, Frances, built the Gothic chapel in 1867 in memory of her husband.
Over the last two years, the cemetery association has received grant money from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and the state preservation office to begin efforts to restore the chapel. Phase one began in March.
The group needs a total of $600,000 to fully restore the historic structure, work that includes its windows and interior.
Besides holding fundraisers, the cemetery association hosts events like an upcoming "tree walk" to share the beauty of the 43 acres. While group members highlight its park-like atmosphere, it's still a cemetery that accepts new burials and offers other ways to memorialize loved ones.
DeFrance said cremation is becoming more popular, so the cemetery has what's called a columbarium, a large granite vault with spaces to store cremated remains. In the future, they have plans to create an ash garden.
On Sunday, May 17, tree experts will lead a one-mile walk through Indian Hill Cemetery. More information is available at the Indian Hill Cemetery website.
