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Preserving History,

Remembering Lives

Est. 1873

 

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Headstones along the river at the Parsons Cemetery
Large headstone with a cross on top at the Parsons Cemetery

About Us

Parsons Cemetery is today both operational and historic. It is an urban green space, an outdoor museum, and in the words of architectural historian, Keith Eggener, urban cemeteries “are where life meets death, nature meets city, and present meets past.”

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Donate to Parsons

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Take a Tour

Parsons Cemetery covers 18 acres and is divided into several sections. Take a tour of our cemetery and learn what Parsons has to offer today.

Take a Tour

Brewington Headstone with a large statue on top
Large headstone with a cross on top

Preserving History

In addition to being an active cemetery, Parsons Cemetery is also a historic site. Many of Salisbury’s early leaders are interred in Parsons Cemetery. The Parsons Cemetery Committee works hard to provide historic information for our patrons and we offer a variety of self-guided tours.

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Two young girls cleaning headstones at the Parsons Cemetery
Wreaths across America at Parsons Cemetery

Working with Our Community

Parsons Cemetery takes great pride in working with the local community. Each December we host Wreaths Across America where we honor the 1,300+ veterans interred in Parsons. We also work with local organizations like Salisbury University, 4-H, and the Boy Scouts to keep the cemetery clean and the older markers maintained.

Parsons is grateful for the number of hours volunteered by the members of our local community.

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Upcoming Events @Parsons-Cemetery

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Memorial Day at Parsons Cemetery

Memorial Day at Parsons Cemetery

May 27, 8:00am - May 27, 5:00pm

Parsons Cemetery

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It was formerly observed on May 30 from 1868 to 1970. The American Legion Post 64 will be placing flags on the graves of veterans on the 27th and removing them on June 3rd.

5 interested  ·  1 going
Honoring Henry Handy

Honoring Henry Handy

Jun 8, 10:30pm

Parsons Cemetery

Henry Handy was a member of one of Salisbury's founding families and owners of Pemberton Hall. Henry was buried at Pemberton Hall but was possibly reinterred at Parsons Cemetery. We will be holding a ceremony to honor his service in the Revolutionary War by dedicating a plaque and kiosk telling about him. A similar plaque will be presented at Pemberton hall at 1:00 PM

13 interested  ·  2 going
Parsons Cemetery's thank you to Salisbury's First Responders

Parsons Cemetery's thank you to Salisbury's First Responders

Sep 11, 8:00am - Sep 11, 9:00am

Parsons Cemetery

Please join Parsons Cemetery in honoring our First Responders on the anniversary of the day their brothers and sisters fought to save those caught in the terrorist attack of 9-11-2001.

Here are five ways you can do it!

Watch our video honoring the First Responders buried at Parsons.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeYxgzdyC5Q&t=20s


Read each of the 63 names of those resting here.
parsonscemetery.com/honoring-our-first-responders/


Visit the cemetery, stop at one of the graves, say thank you.
parsonscemetery.com/honoring-our-first-responders/

Tell us if you know of a First Responder buried at Parsons that is not on our list.
parsonscemetery.com/contact/

Join us at our Wreaths Across America event on December 16th since many First Responders are also Veterans
parsonscemetery.com/community-events/
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1 going
Blessing of the Animals

Blessing of the Animals

Oct 6, 2:00pm

Parsons Cemetery

In honor of the Feast of Saint Francis, patron saint of animals, we will be holding our annual Blessing of the Animals at the Delmarva Pet Garden located in Parsons Cemetery. We invite you and your pets to join us for this special event. The event is rain or shine and open to all.

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Veteran's Day at Parsons Cemetery

Veteran's Day at Parsons Cemetery

Nov 11, 10:00am - Nov 11, 12:00pm

Parsons Cemetery

“Protecting our future by remembering our past,” in the words of the Doughboy Foundation (DF), Parsons Cemetery joins others across the country in its annual Bells of Peace Ceremony this Veteran’s Day.

Initiated in 2018 to commemorate the World War I Armistice's 100th anniversary, this ceremony at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month honors all Americans who have served their nation and the cherished peace we enjoy because of their dedication and sacrifice, the DF said.

At 11 a.m. that Saturday, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, which owns Parsons Cemetery, will ring its tower bell 21 times. The church’s 8:30 a.m. prayer service will also honor the sacrifice of veterans. It usually lasts about half an hour.

At Parsons, the on-sit office opens at 10 a.m. with a display of Dr. Brent Zaprowski's new and unpublished Veteran's Self-guided Walking Tour memorializing the WWI veterans. Some 300 veterans of the “War to End All Wars” are interred at the cemetery, said Zaprowski, a member of the Parsons Advisory Committee. The office will remain open until 11:30 a.m. and all are invited. At 10:15 a.m., a guided walking tour starts, focusing on the graves of all veterans, from the War of 1812 onward. Carol Smith, who drafted the original tour, will lead. A moment of silence will be observed as the "Bells of Peace" ring. Some 1,238 men from Wicomico County were mobilized during WWI, Zaprowski added, and worldwide over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died.

Smith, also an advisory committee member and history buff, said the first public celebration of Armistice Day was in 1919. In 1954 it was renamed Veterans Day.

All are invited to the St. Peter’s prayer service and to Parsons for the walking tours. St. Peter’s is located at 115 St. Peter’s St. downtown. Parsons is located at 912 N. Division St. For more information call 410-749-6571.


www.military.com/daily-news/2018/11/02/heres-how-you-can-ring-bells-peace-your-smartphone-veteran...
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Wreaths Across America at Parsons Cemetery

Wreaths Across America at Parsons Cemetery

Dec 14, 8:00am - Dec 14, 10:00am

Parsons Cemetery Salisbury, MD

Parsons Cemetery will participate in this national event to honor the nearly 1400 veterans buried at our cemetery. Gates open at 9:00. Parade starts at 9:30. Ceremony at 10:00 followed by placement of wreaths

11 interested  ·  2 going

Recent Posts @Parsons-Cemetery

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6 hours ago
Parsons Cemetery

Parsons Cemetery just received the news that we will receive 204 wreaths for our yearly Wreaths Across America event where we place wreaths on the graves of our nearly 1400 veterans. Thank you to both the local and national Mission Barbeque for their support of our event.

Congratulations! Parsons Cemetery (MDPACS) has been designated as a recipient of 204 veterans’ wreaths donated through the MISSION BBQ American Heroes Cup Campaign.

Thanks to the generosity of MISSION BBQ customers in your community and across the United States, MISSION BBQ was able to donate an incredible $347,068 to Wreaths Across America for wreath sponsorships to be placed on National Wreaths Across America Day 2024! Their customers and the Salisbury, MD store staff have chosen your cemetery as one of 98 participating locations at which veterans’ wreaths will be allocated from this corporate donation.

This wreath-only allocation has been added to your location page and can be viewed in your Research Orders or Wreath Count Report. We have attached a certificate for you to print, sign and deliver to your local MISSION BBQ location as a thank you. Please personally invite them to attend your wreath-laying ceremony this December so they can see the impact their donation made for your location.

This is a great time of year to share Wreaths Across America news with your local media. With this being a very newsworthy donation, we encourage you to review and customize the attached template press release to share this good news with the media in your area and to let the community know about upcoming fundraising or mission-related events you have planned. The first step is to update the press release document to reflect your location’s information. Then, research media outlets in your area – this includes TV, radio, newspapers and bloggers/community websites – and create a list of reporters to contact with your news release. If you have existing relationships with media in your area, please share this news with them immediately! And, of course, make yourself available to speak with the press interested in covering this news story. If you have any questions, please contact the PR team at [email protected].

MISSION BBQ American Heroes Cups are available for purchase in-store, year-round, with a portion of the proceeds donated to a charity supporting military servicemembers and local first responders. The MISSION BBQ partnership with Wreaths Across America remains invaluable, and their corporate contribution helps ensure the Wreaths Across America mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – continues for years to come.

On behalf of the volunteers and military families looking to honor all the veterans laid to rest at Parsons Cemetery (MDPACS) and the Wreaths Across America extended family, we applaud you for your continued efforts and congratulate you on this exceptional consideration from MISSION BBQ!
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2 weeks ago
Parsons Cemetery

In September of 2018, John and I brought the historic Gillis Grier House and labored many hours transforming it into a B&B. Then on October 1, 2019, we opened the doors to the Gillis Grier B&B which was the first, and still is, the only bed & breakfast in the Newton Historic District of Salisbury, Md.
So April 12, 2024 will be a very bittersweet day for John and I, as it will be our last day as owners of the Gillis Grier Bed & Breakfast. We recently sold our inn to a wonderful couple who plan on continuing to operate it as a B&B and will honor all existing reservations. It is our hope that this community will open their arms to them as you so warmly did for us.
For the past 5 years, we have felt supported and loved by everyone in our community and all the guests who have entered our doors.
Through the years we’ve had the most amazing time as your hosts from private parties and showers, Christmas tours, photographers shoots, to being honored to celebrate a guest’s 101 birthday and a couple’s 50th wedding anniversary. These are just some of wonderful times we’ve experienced here.
My absolute favorite memories are of our Victorian tea parties. Each month about 15 amazing women (and lots of men, too) came, some in period attire, to enjoy an afternoon tea with homemade scones, finger sandwiches and desserts. But most of all, we laughed and enjoyed each other’s company for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.
There were many factors that led us to the difficult decision to sell, but we felt it was the right time for us to move closer to our family out of state.
To all our guests, thank you for your support and love. Each and every one of you have left us as being part of our family and for that we feel blessed. To all our neighbors in our community, you truly made us feel at home. To the Newtown Association, I was proud to be on the board and to be a part of the great job you are doing for our community.
Thank you all, stay well and may God bless you.
John and Charleen
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3 weeks ago
Parsons Cemetery

Have a blessed Easter ... See MoreSee Less

Have a blessed Easter
4 weeks ago
Parsons Cemetery

Photos from Wreaths Across America - Official Page's post ... See MoreSee Less

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1 month ago
Parsons Cemetery

As part of our upcoming Festival on May 5th, we'd like to invite people to join in the fun and be part of our Community Curator's Tent. Do you collect something unique? Something fun? Something awesome? Come show off your collection to everyone at our Festival and be the expert. Participants will be allowed to sell items they bring if they so choose. For more information and if you'd like to participate please email [email protected] ... See MoreSee Less

1 month ago
Parsons Cemetery

Thank you to the students from the Salisbury University Honors College www.salisbury.edu/academic-offices/honors/ and to Dean Martino for completing our annual Spring cleanup. Parsons Cemetery is looking great for Easter! ... See MoreSee Less

Thank you to the students from the Salisbury University Honors College https://www.salisbury.edu/academic-offices/honors/  and to Dean Martino for completing our annual Spring cleanup. Parsons Cemetery is looking great for Easter!Image attachmentImage attachment+2Image attachment

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Thank you Salisbury University Clarke Honors College for all of your hard work! The cemetery looks great! We appreciate you!

Great job. Thanks so much!

I appreciate their work but wish tombstone saddles could have been left in place. Went there today and it was gone. I visit weekly. I think clean up was a bit extreme.

Salisbury University Clarke Honors College

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