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The first acre of of land for East Cemetery was deeded by Thomas Pitkin to the Town of Hartford in 1751. The area was incorporated into East Hartford in 1783 and subsequently into Manchester in 1823, Additional purchases of land in 1843, 1856, 1867, 1896, 1925 and 1955 expanded the cemetery to its present 51 acres. It is the second oldest and largest cemetery in Manchester.
East Cemetery is by far the largest cemetery in Manchester, beginning with its first acre, deeded by Thomas Pitkin to the Town of Hartford in 1751; the area was incorporated into East Hartford in 1783 and then as Manchester in 1823. Additional purchases of land in 1843, 1856, 1867, 1896, 1925, and 1955 expanded the cemetery to its present 51 acres. It is the second oldest cemetery in Manchester. The late John Spaulding, author with his wife Betty of a tour-booklet of East Cemetery suggested, "Drive through the cemetery and observe the different types of cemetery development that occurred over the last 250 years. The first acre was next to East Center Street and has about five hundred individual graves. The next area to the south is laid out in rectangular plots. The area south of the cemetery office is laid out as a 'rural cemetery' following the precedent set by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At one time there was a pond near the office spanned by a bridge. As the newer sections near Westminster Street were developed, the design reverted to a rectangular layout, presumably for ease of maintenance." The twenty page "Self-Guided Historical Walking Tour" booklet for East Cemetery is available at our museum store and online walking tour booklet. It includes the story of the Cheney Cemetery, a 2.03-acre parcel which abuts the East Cemetery, and was deeded to the Cheney Cemetery Association by Cheney Brothers, Inc., in 1916. See Cheney Cemetery pamphlet, with information from "If All the Great Men," about some of the family members whose gravestones are located at the cemetery.
This cemetery is located on 220 East Center Street, Manchester, Hartford County, Connecticut.