Cypress Cemetery

The
oldest
of the
old
Cypress Cemetery is old, really, really old but nobody really knows exactly how old it is. When Lion Gardiner founded Old Saybrook back in 1635 it is recorded that he also laid out some land for a graveyard. Cypress Cemetery is very likely the place that ol’ Lion started burying the dead.
There are some very old gravestones in the cemetery but of course being right on the water and with the harsh winters, most of the oldest stones are now just nubs or impossible to read.
I did see some from the early 1700s and other unreadable stones were without question much older. Most of the old gravestones were simple and very few really grandiose and elaborate ones are in this cemetery. Definitely some unique ones but overall quite modest.
One of the fascinating things about this ancient graveyard is that it is still in use today, making it one of the very oldest cemeteries in continuous use in the country. Lion Gardiner started this graveyard many centuries ago and it is amazing that it still serves as a finally resting for the departed even today.