Excerpt from Henry S. Nourse’s “History of the Town of Harvard Massachusetts 1732–1893,” written in 1894.

March 1, 1886, the town accepted a legacy of $1,000 from the estate of Honorable Edward Lawrence, a resident of Charlestown but a native of Harvard, under the provisions of his will given: “...to be expended by the selectmen or such committee as may be appointed with all reasonable dispatch after receiving the same, in building a new stone wall or wooden fence, as they may think proper, around the old Burying Ground in said Town, and in planting trees therein, and generally in improving the same so as to make it more in accordance with what such a place should be, and to manifest my affectionate remembrance of those dear to me lying buried there.”

With this donation a substantial stone wall was built along the roadside, and other much-needed improvement were effected.

The old burial ground becoming crowded, a movement began in 1891 looking to the selection and purchase of land for a town cemetery. This resulted in securing about 16 acres west of Pin Hill, for which the sum of $800 was paid.

The land was at once laid out for burial purposes, and named Brookside Cemetery. This burial place, though centrally located, and otherwise suitable for its use, was not distinguished by any picturesque features, nor was it so diversified in surface as to favor the landscape gardener’s art.

Its selection therefore became the subject of some criticism, and in September 1892, Henry L. Warner, Esq., who had before given the sum of $500 “to enhance and extend the beauty and ornamentation of the new cemetery,” offered to buy a site better adapted to ornamental treatment, and give $1,000 for its improvement if the town would accept the gift and abandon the location at Brookside. At a very full town meeting, September 24, the town unanimously accepted the generous benefaction.

The new site chosen, to which the name Bellevue has been given, is upon the east side of the road leading from Still River to Harvard, commanding charming views of Bare Hill, the lake, and the central village; and when the skill of the engineer, the taste of the gardener, and the growth of tree and shrub have perfected their work, it must become one of the most attractive spots in this beautiful town.