Location: 43.90646, -70.84689
This cemetery is on the west side of 113 between Fire Lane 77 and Easy Avenue. It is on the south bank of the outlet stream from Pequawket (Rattlesnake) Pond. Very little sign remains of this cemetery, as many of the graves have been removed. The cemetery is on a defined knoll with a path that circles around it. The path once led from the highway along the south side of the brook and up the south bank to the cemetery. A stone wall is on the west side and there are at least five grave depressions oriented east/west. The son of the landowner to the south reports having seen pieces of gravestones as a child but they could not be located in 2018.
Historical Information:
According to Teg’s History of Brownfield, many of these graves were moved by Henri M. Lane (son of William H. Lane) to Pine Grove Cemetery around 1923. However, in 1905 Eli Bean said that the graves had already been moved. The William H. Lane homestead was near the site of the current (2018) Townline Garage, just north of Fire Lane 77 on the west side of 113 near the Hiram/Brownfield line. Two days before his death, William H. deeded his land to his daughter Alvina A. Lane (Book 65, page 527). In the deed is the following description for the family burying ground: “across the brook from the house on an elevation of land including the present lot as enclosed by a picket fence, and also a space twenty feet wide in every direction from said fence, the corners of the entire lot to be marked hereafter by stone posts. Also a roadway one rod in width from the public highway to said burying ground on the course and usual route travelled, reserving for myself the right of burial in said lot with my kindred at my decease. Said lot contains one tenth of an acre more or less.”
From Ruth Peckham’s notes from Eli Bean’s diaries (1905): “After you pass the Old Lane House and go up turn towards Hiram, there used to be a cemetery up on right hillside known as Wakefield Cemetery. Had picket fence around it. Wm. Wakefield was buried there. All bodies were taken up except one–an aunt–and brought to Brownfield and buried in Lane Cemetery.” (This was probably a mistake and was supposed to be Pine Grove. Another probable mistake is the name Wm. Wakefield. This should probably be William Lane.)
From the list of recorded gravestones it appears that some members of the Lane family were moved to Lot #233A in Pine Grove. These include: William Lane, Algia (Haines) Lane, William Henry Lane, Lavina (Wakefield) Lane, Ellen (Lane) Clemens, Elvira Whitney, and Samey Chadbourne.
Other burials listed by Eli Bean as being in the Lane Cemetery in 1894 are not accounted for: One child of James Clemens, two children of William Nelson Lane, and Elicha (Merrill) Woodbury (daughter of John Merrill, wife of John C. Woodbury). None of these burials had headstones.
Condition (10/20/18):
Most people would not be able to tell that this is a cemetery. The grave depressions would be noticeable to the trained eye.