Forest Hills Cemetery — Attraction in Boston

Forest Hills Cemetery used to be a wonderful place until they appointed the current CEO (yes, apparently cemeteries have CEOs) a few years ago. George H. Milley III has utterly gutted the cemetery of what had formerly been a spirit of welcoming embrace to the community, to the arts, and to the families whose loved ones lay there in rest.

The cemetery used to host festivals (a lantern festival, a Japanese Bon festival, etc) that both engaged the community and celebrated the deceased, but CEO Milley cancelled them because they were not profitable.

Milley has also embarked on a large-scale deforestation project, utterly clear-cutting swathes of what had formerly been beautiful and serene old-growth woodland — a project that threatens to render the cemetery’s very name obsolete, in addition to all of the typical environmental harms wrought by deforestation.

Under Milley’s leadership, the cemetery has severely restricted access to the community by permanently closing entrances, curtailing hours, prohibiting dogs, and empowering its private police force to kick people out for whatever reason they deem.

What’s worse is that the cemetery was founded on the principle that, in addition to being a place for families to bury their lost loved ones, it would be “a place which urban dwellers could visit to connect with nature, refresh the spirit, and take delight in beauty.” Essentially it was intended to be a public park. With all of the prohibitions and deforestation that Milley has embarked on, he is threatening these principles on which the cemetery was founded.

When the community has attempted to engage Milley and the cemetery’s staff about their concerns, they have been met with anything between complete silence and utter contempt. Milley’s attitude is very much “we’re a private organization; we can do whatever we want”.

The cemetery was gifted by (what was then) the City of Roxbury to the non-profit that currently operates it, under the condition that the public would have access to the grounds. But lately this “non-profit” cemetery has been betraying its obligations to the public as well as its original promise to the city when ownership was transferred to the non-profit. And this supposed “non-profit” has very much been on a mission to, well, make some profits by clear-cutting forest, canceling unprofitable community events, and keeping the community out. After all, they need the funds to pay CEO Milley’s $376,103-per-year (as of...

It's hard to find a quiet, beautiful greenspace in Boston proper. If you're feeling jangled by traffic and commuting and car exhaust, try visiting Forest Hills Cemetery. It's a 5 minute (uphill) walk from Forest Hills station, up Tower Street. There's well-kept public restrooms at the stone gate entrance for when you inevitably have to pee. Leashed dogs are allowed in non-active parts of the cemetery. Note: there are NO TRASHCANS (not even in the restrooms), so you must carry out bagged dog waste and trash with you.

Unlike some other ahem famous park cemeteries in the metro area, FHC allows dogs, jogging, casual yoga, and picnicking. In many ways, Forest Hills Cemetery is more like a public park with historically interesting gravestones and mausoleums. There are beautiful Victorian-era grave sculptures. There are also modern art sculptures installed throughout the cemetery. Enjoy massive old trees and tall conifers! Dense groves of rhododendrons provide shelter and caterpillars to large numbers of migrating warblers in spring. Choose from two ponds: the main pond attracts kingfishers, herons, mergansers, and sandpipers to its small protected islands. (The ridge overlooking the large pond also attracts an inordinate number of migrating birds in spring.) The second smaller pond has a picturesque rivulet running down a rocky escarpment, stone sculptures, and a small fountain. If you're at the smaller pond, keep your eyes peeled for the flock (herd?) of wild turkeys often seen in the area.

This place is bigger than you think it is, with more varied bird habitat and more beautiful foliage than you're expecting. And it's wonderfully quiet. Wear appropriate shoes (lots of acorns, pine needles, wet grass, and stone steps). Bring a bottle of water, a packed lunch, and...

This is a wonderful place to come for a walk in beautiful surroundings. The cemetery is very well kept with clear paths and lots of interesting things to see from the graves themselves to the trees and foliage. It's very different from the burial grounds within the main downtown of Boston and was designed as a garden cemetery. Some of the tombs are absolutely stunning and are real works of art. Just inside the gates is a display of maps with a little donation box ($1 suggested). If you're not great with maps like me and there's a grave in particular you want to find, I would ask in the office for a more precise location. The cemetery is really big and the location circles on the map can have quite a few graves in the same area. I was just having a general walk and had a 50/50 success rate at actually locating the pinpointed ones. I found the smaller grassy paths are very well signposted but the larger main paths are not always so it's helpful to cross reference with the map on your phone so you don't get...