Recorded settlement of what is now Dalton, Massachusetts began in 1755, and the town was incorporated in 1784. The Chamberlin family, who were among its early settlers, owned the land along what is now East Main Street, and set aside this parcel of land as a burial ground. The oldest gravestone with a date is marked 1781; earlier burials are possible, but lack documentation and earlier gravestones may have been vandalized or stolen. Some time in the early 19th century the town assumed ownership of the cemetery. The cemetery was used most heavily in the mid-19th century, with usage declining in favor of the Main Street Cemetery, which was laid out in the rural cemetery style that had come into fashion. In contrast, burial practices at East Main Street continued to follow the early traditions, with simple headstones and a graves laid out in relatively straight rows. The last burial at East Main Street took place in 1895. In 1887 the town was asked to consider relocating the bodies in the cemetery to Main Street, but no vote was held on the matter.
Facilities
The cemetery is a plot of. Graves are arranged in rows emanating from a central aisle. In its early days the boundaries of the cemetery were marked by stone walls, but these were replaced in the 19th century by wood fencing, and chain link fencing in 1985. The stone gate marking the entrance is the most prominent feature of the cemetery. Most of the gravestones are modest in size and decoration; there are only five significant markers. The two largest of these flank the entrance gate, and are miod 19th century monuments for Chamberlin family members. A similarly styled monument to those two commemorates the Maynard family, while a squat obelisk in the tenth row marks graves of the Cleveland family. The most ornate marker is for James Bardin : it has a high pedestal supporting a round column, topped by an urn and encircled by a wreath. Most of the cemetery's stones are not in very good condition. Many have been vandalized, and a number may have been stolen, given that surveys over the years show declining numbers of stones. Many stones have become difficult or impossible to read due to weathering, and some broken stones have simply been placed further into the ground, obscuring writing on the buried portions.
