CEMETERY TRUSTEES
The governing board of the Central Cemetery is composed of three elected trustees who serve three year staggered terms. Currently, the Trustees and their term expirations are: Kenneth Moynahan in 2015, Frank Drake in 2013, and Roger
O. Philbrick in 2014. The Trustees meet quarterly and any other time as necessary. Their meetings are open to the public and are often held at the Central Cemetery. The minutes of their meetings are on file with the Town Clerk at the Town Hall. The Superintendent of Central Cemetery, who is in charge of operation and maintenance, is John Coscia. John can be reached at (603) 817-0066.
There is currently one cemetery in active use in Rye – the Central Cemetery. It is located on Central Road next to Town Hall. There are over sixty small family graveyards in Town that are reminders of our early history. They contain the remains of early residents which were not moved to the new Central Cemetery when it was created in The 1890’s. The sixty or more family graveyards are scattered throughout Rye. Some of the graveyards which are more accessible than others include:
1. The Wedgewood Family Cemetery which is on the north side of Lang Road behind the Junior High School.
2. The Caswell Cemetery which is located on Star Island at the Isles of Shoals.
3. The Old Odiorne Point Cemetery on Route One in Rye which is located between the entrance to Odiorne Park small boat launch and the main entrance on the opposite side of the street. It is the oldest cemetery in New Hampshire. It is the site of the monument to David Thomson, New Hampshire’s first European settler in 1623. To find the cemetery follow the path between the 1880 Odiorne family house and barn/greenhouse.
4. The Foss Family Cemetery which is located on Washington Road.
5. The Berry Family Cemetery which is located on Breakfast Hill.
6. The South Road Cemetery.
7. The Congregational Cemetery.
8. The Locke Family Cemetery which is located on Harbor Road
The Rye Historical Society maintains an inventory of these family plots with photographs and other historical information available to the public for research.