The Polish Cemetery in Nashua

A brief history of the cemetery

The cemetery was established in 1914 on an 8-acre (approx. 3.2 ha) plot of land purchased by the parish, situated in the eastern part of the town, on the slope of a local hill, at 61 Pine Hill Road. For many years, the cemetery remained neglected, and it was only following extensive work undertaken in 1950 (initiated somewhat earlier by Father Józef Piszczalka, parish priest until 1948), did it come to meet the requirements of form and aesthetics befitting a place of burial. The cemetery grounds were extended, levelled and landscaped. At that time, paths paved with asphalt and concrete were laid out, intersecting at right angles and running in a semicircular pattern in the upper part of the cemetery. The cemetery was separated from the main road – Pine Hill Road – by a low granite wall with two gates and a wicket with iron leaves; the remaining boundaries were marked by a wooden fence and a wire mesh fence.

The western part of the cemetery is occupied by gravestones and covers an area of approximately 1 ha; the remaining open space serves as a reserve area, which can be used as a car park during ceremonies held there. Work on the cemetery continued until 1958, at a cost of US$42,000. Since 1951, the revitalised site has been known as ‘Pulaski Park’.

In the upper part of the cemetery stands the cemetery chapel. It is a modest building dating from 1945, used for funeral services. It was built on a rectangular plan and features white walls made of ceramic blocks with windows, supporting a gable roof covered with bituminous shingles. The gable wall, which forms the façade, is crowned by a cross placed on the ridge; adjoining it is an open wooden colonnaded porch, sheltering the entrance.

The Polish Cemetery in Nashua – a description

Although essentially Polish in character, the cemetery has a Puritanic character typical of New England cemeteries. It is filled with stone gravestones, loosely arranged in rows on a well-tended, lawn-covered area; the vast majority are without crosses and bear modest inscriptions. Scattered amongst them are small stone grave slabs (plaques) laid flush with the ground in an irregular pattern. The absence of any fencing around the grave plots is striking; at the same time, they are not demarcated in any way. The cemetery contains 348 upright stone gravestones and 303 slabs/plaques set flush with the ground, making a total of 651 sepulchral monuments. According to information from the cemetery administration, it commemorates the burial of 1,178 people (many of the gravestones are dedicated to several people). Gravestones with inscriptions in English and non-Polish surnames are extremely rare in this cemetery.

Memorials at the Nashua cemetery

The central avenue, leading uphill, is marked at its end by a massive granite cross. The monument is dedicated to nine soldiers of Polish descent who served in the US Army and fell during the Second World War. Their names are engraved on the granite block. Next to it stand flagpoles flying the American and Polish flags. The monument is the focal point of the cemetery. It was erected in 1984 by parishioners from the ‘St. Stanislaus Ladies Guild’.

In the upper part of the cemetery, on the right-hand side, there is a second commemorative monument (undated). It is a tall vertical slab dedicated to Polish missionaries from the ‘Our Lady of Lasalette’ congregation, bearing seven names, six of which are Polish.

The cemetery in Nashua is dominated by simple stone (granite or limestone) steles, sometimes with crosses placed upon them. Older gravestones are often monolithic vertical slabs with a cross; occasionally, a cross stylised to resemble a tree trunk is set upon rocks. Small rectangular gravestone slabs (plaques) are placed directly on the ground. They mostly commemorate soldiers of the US Army (most often of Polish origin) who fought on land and at sea during the Second World War (and who died after the war had ended).

The inscriptions on the gravestones are almost exclusively in Polish and are concise in terms of the information they contain. In many cases, they form a family chronicle spanning several generations. It should be noted that, on occasion, the spelling of the inscription shifts to a phonetic form. The earliest date of death found in this cemetery is 1915, and the latest is 2022.

The gravestone inscriptions at St Stanislaus’s Cemetery in Nashua are a striking example of the ongoing Americanisation of the local Polish community in linguistic terms. This applies primarily to first names – in most cases, they are written in their English forms, e.g. Alice, Anthony, Eugene, Joseph, Mary, Stanley, as are family relationships: ‘daughter’, ‘son’, ‘wife’. Surnames, on the other hand, appear in their original form on the oldest gravestones; over time, however, the ending ‘-wski’ is replaced by ‘-ski’, ‘-ski’ by ‘-sky’, and ‘sz’ by ‘sh’. Many surnames indicate that the emigrants came from the territories of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, including Alukonis, Degulis, Gidymin, Juonis, Mozejka, Panagoulis and Stanulonis.

On numerous gravestones, the upper part features a figure of Christ on the cross carved into the stone; other motifs carved using this technique include an open book, a portrait of the Merciful Christ, a winged angel, the figure of a monk or an image of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn. Carefully crafted bas-reliefs depicting the Merciful Christ or the Virgin and Child are also found. Geometric and floral ornamentation also features in the decoration. In a few instances, figures made of artificial stone – such as the Merciful Christ or a winged angel – have been placed on the gravestones as secondary decorative elements.

The cemetery is an example of how a former Polish parish has maintained cultural continuity by upholding the spiritual values brought from their homeland.