“Just over that far-off hill, is an old cemetery.”

For years, as a child, I heard this comment from family members or neighbors, as they returned from a day spent deer hunting. It was intriguing to imagine why a cemetery would be located where there were no houses for miles around. And when it came to actually describing just where these spooky (to my mind) burying grounds were – well, that was a little more difficult. So it remained a “hunter’s secret,” and we grew up knowing that somewhere not too far away, there were bodies buried.

One place mentioned was located about halfway between Anderson Road and Land of Nod Road, “on the pipeline” and was a semi-cleared area that had some gravestones. Deer hunting doesn’t mean stopping to write down names on gravestones, but the name Cobb was vaguely remembered.

In the early spring of 1989, a fellow cemetery aficionado and writer from Westbrook told me he was going to investigate this rumored resting place, heading out in back of an old brick house. And what a surprise when he reported back that there were four or five stones, one of which was engraved: Mary Cobb, 1798-1882.

The Cobb families proliferated in this area many years ago. The little hill one can see from Land of Nod Road was called Walnut Hill. Among the Cobbs who lived around the Land of Nod and Walnut Hill, in the late 1700s-early 1800s were Ephraim, Elias, William, Samuel, Susan, Charles, Peter and Mary. Many of them were stonecutters and several were basketmakers. The cemetery where Mary Cobb is buried is listed on the Westbrook Historical Society website.

Another hunting story we’ve heard for years, from many, is about the cemetery in East Windham near the end of the Nash Road. Today, the road continues up over probably the most “ledgy” part of town, but before that, there is a small graveyard that has been “discovered” several times over the past couple of decades. It has no name, as it was obviously a family burying place for Aaron Hanscom’s family. He once farmed nearby and many of his descendants lived here for years. The land today is still privately owned, has been logged and is, or used to be, a prime hunting spot. Some of the stones have been moved and some are broken, but efforts are underway by a descendant to restore this yard.

There are cemeteries in Windham where all the stones have been removed, however. There used to be a Bodge Cemetery over in South Windham but all the gravestones were moved to Chute Cemetery when the railroad track was built more than 100 years ago. Still a mystery is what happened to a cemetery, which is shown on an old map, lying in the land between Swett Road and Finley Road. It’s identified as “E. Lord Cem.”

The elusive Hardy Cemetery was actually in Westbrook, but very close to the Windham line. In the summer of 1988, a friend and I were roaming around looking for interesting areas. From the Hardy Road, in the woods across a field, I could see a little knoll and a patch of some bright green plants.

A neighbor directed us to the spot and said the area was always green. We walked across the field and found a piece of broken wire and some broken down posts – corner posts we suspected. One flat stone was found by digging in the thick leaves – It read: “Albion Hardy, died March 3, 1857 at the age of 23 years.” Several “foot stones” were also found. Later when doing research, I found this cemetery listed in Westbrook’s records and a note that all stones had been moved to the Highland Lake Cemetery. All except Albion’s, it appears.

Hunting for old cemeteries can be enjoyable – just be sure you’re not on private land. Ask first and don’t trespass.