Norfolk Center Cemetery
In Norfolk, Connecticut
Who We Are
The Norfolk Center Cemetery Association, Incorporated in 1906, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit responsible for the care and overseeing of all cemetery business.
A Bit of History:
James Mars, a Slave Born and Sold in Connecticut
The Norfolk Center Cemetery was established in 1757, a year prior to the incorporation of the town of Norfolk, October 12, 1758, and therefore is the oldest official burial ground in our town. The earliest grave known is 1762. The Norfolk Center Cemetery is the final resting place for many of the town’s founding families who helped shape our village. The Norfolk Center Cemetery is also unique because it is an integrated burial ground. Many of Norfolk’s African American residents are buried very near some of the more prominent families of the 19th century. Namely the grave of James Mars (1790-1880), who in 1798, at the age of eight years, was the last slave bought and sold in Norfolk. James is buried next to his father, Jupiter Mars (1751-1818). Jupiter had served in the Revolutionary War. Their gravesites are now a stop on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
“The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”
― Harriet Beecher Stowe
