A Guided Tour of Gravestone Art in Bennington Center Cemetery

We’re sorry. This event has been cancelled.

Join Bennington Museum curator, Jamie Franklin, for a tour of the Bennington Center Cemetery (also known as the Old First Church Cemetery). Early New England cemeteries are underappreciated treasure troves, akin to open air museums, filled with some of the most important examples of stone sculpture created in America during the period of the Revolution and Early Republic. The Bennington Center Cemetery is widely recognized as one of the most beautiful in our state. The cemetery tour will introduce you to gravestones carved by some of the most prominent stonecutters active in this area from the 1760s through the 1830s, including Zerubbabel Collins, the Manning Family, Samuel Dwight, and the Rule family, and provide insights into the early stone cutting industry in our region. The program will begin in the museum’s Early Vermont Gallery and finish in the Bennington Center Cemetery, located immediately adjacent to the museum. Wear comfortable shoes and dress appropriately for the weather.

Registration for this in-person tour is limited to 15 participants. Tickets must be purchased by 5:00pm (Eastern US) on Friday October 27 and are non-refundable.

Members: $20

Not-Yet-Members: $25