Location: 43.82629 -70.91496
From its intersection with Old Meetinghouse Road, drive east and north on Town Pound Road 0.9 miles to the last house (Hover family in 2019). Park and walk (or drive with a 4WD vehicle) 0.5 miles more to the east until a logging path blocked by large rocks on the left (north) side. The cemetery is 100 feet northwest along this path. There are a few unmarked graves surrounded by a wire fence and two concrete stones outside of the fence. This cemetery could also be accessed from the east end of Town Pound Road, though it is gated after the last house. Town Pound Road is not maintained in the winter.
Historical Information:
From Burch’s “Cemeteries from the Town of Porter, Maine”: “According to Adrian Durgin, his mother, Dorothy Burnell Durgin Temple, was born in this farmhouse in 1906. Adrian says his grandmother, Elizabeth Libby Burnell, was originally buried in this cemetery. Elizabeth died in 1934. But in a conflict with the town of Porter, the town refused to maintain the Town Pound Road so the family removed Elizabeth from this cemetery and reburied her in the Stanley Cemetery in South Hiram. There is a large sunken area in the Burnell Burial Ground that indicates where Elizabeth was originally buried. According to Adrian, several children of Elizabeth and Nathaniel Burnell may be buried in this cemetery. There are no gravemarkers to indicate this.”
Elizabeth “Lizzy” Libby (b.1870) probably inherited the farm from her parents, Henry M. and Ora (French) Libby, who are shown here on the 1875 map. Lizzy married Nathaniel P. Burnell 6/13/1896. Three daughters, Ella (b.1897), Grace (b.1902) and Dorothy (b.1906), survived to adulthood. Three sons died young: Sydney N. (b. 10/25/1898, d. 9/18/1903), a son (b. 12/14/1908, d. before 1910), and Charles (b. 12/14/1909, d. 9/14/1910).
Nathaniel and Lizzy are buried in Stanley Cemetery in South Hiram. There is no record of the three sons being buried anywhere else so it is assumed that they are still buried at the Burnell Cemetery.
Condition (9/15/19):
This small rectangular cemetery is surrounded by a wire fence. It is only wide enough for one row of graves. It is assumed that the most northern grave was Lizzy’s since there is a large grave depression there, consistent with an exhumation. There would be room for the children to be buried south of her. No grave depressions or gravestones were noted for the children. Outside of the fence are two newer concrete markers. It is unknown who these are for, or if they are possibly pets of a later landowner.
