Beautiful burial spaces in the serene setting of historic Parsons Cemetery are available starting at just $995.
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Elegant cremation niches overlooking the beautiful banks of Johnson's Pond are available starting at $1795.
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Lovingly memorialize your cherished pet's cremated remains in the Delmarva Pet Garden at Parsons Cemetery. We offer a variety of options for memorializing your pet starting at just $95.
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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.”
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.
NEW! Parsons Cemetery is proud to announce the launch of an exciting new search tool that will allow you to find the resting places of loved ones
Parsons is a very active, operational cemetery. It is also a historical site rich with information about Salisbury’s past. Many of Salisbury’s past leaders rest here. The Parsons Cemetery Advisory Committee is dedicated to providing accurate historical information for our patrons and we offer a variety of self-guided tours.
Parsons Cemetery takes great pride in working with the local community on many events and projects. Each December, we partner with Operation We Care to host a Wreaths Across America event where we honor the nearly 1400 veterans interred in Parsons. We have several events during the year where many local organizations volunteer their time to keep the cemetery clean and the markers maintained. We welcome organizations to use our beautiful setting to hold their own fundraising events
Parsons is grateful for the number of hours volunteered by the members of our local community.
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Dedication of Monument and Kiosk for Salisbury’s Past Mayor Charles Harper
Date & Time:
Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Location:
Parsons Cemetery,
912 N Division St.
Salisbury, MD. 21802
Phone: (410) 749-6571
Website: www.parsonscemetery.com
Email: parsonscemetery1873@gmail.com
Contact Person:
Dr. Brent Zaprowski (luvrocks33@netscape.net)
Background:
Among the many prominent Salisburians at rest in Parsons Cemetery is Charles Edward Harper, Mayor of Salisbury from 1904 to 1910.
Harper was born in Hurlock, Maryland, on September 13, 1863, and moved to Salisbury in 1883. He learned the Jewler’s trade, where he started as a journeyman for two years. In May 1886 he opened a small shop on Main Street in Salisbury.
He was a member of the Salisbury Fire Department, and he helped fight Great Fire of Salisbury, October 17, 1886. After the fire of 1886 he established a jewelry store in the old Peninsula Hotel building, on what was known as the dining room side. Subsequently, he formed a partnership with George W. Taylor. The firm of Harper and Taylor occupied a storefront on the corner of Main and St. Peters Streets for a number of years. After Mr. Taylor passed, Mr. Haper operated the jewelry business under the old name until 1930.
Harper married Mary Josephine Hilghman at Wicomico Presbyterian Church on February 8, 1888, and they celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1938.
Actively politically, Mr. Harper was elected Mayor of Salisbury in 1904 and re-elected for three consecutive terms. During his administration, Salisbury obtained an adequate water supply, and the streets were paved. Mayor Harper was a prominent figure in organizing the first Gas Company in Salisbury, and during his last term as Mayor, he was instrumental in having the channels of the two prongs of the Wicomico River deepened and made navigable from the Main Street bridge to the dams. Harper also took an active part in the formation of the Businessmen’s Association, out of which grew the present Chamber of Commerce. Also, as a Jeweler, he took on the daily care of the Salisbury Town Clock for many years.
Mr. Harper kept a journal for 40 years of Salisbury Harbor ship sailings and dockings, which led to his being named as the First Harbormaster of the Port of Salisbury, in 1929.
Other positions of trust held by Mr. Harper include Chairman of the Board of Moving Picture Censors for 4 years and Chairman of the Water and Sewer Commission from 1924 to 1928, during which time the present water and sewer system of the city was installed.
Mayor Charles E. Harper died on April 3, 1938, and Mrs. Harper died on May 1, 1943. Both of their graves were previously unmarked. The monument and kiosk being dedicated are erected in their memory and to celebrate their contributions to Salisbury. The monument was provided through the generosity of L. Paul Morris, Jr., Mrs. Harper’s great grand-nephew.
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Lane 1 (closest to downtown) at Parsons Cemetery is now ONE WAY from Bishop's Circle to the crossover lane. Large trucks and vehicles with trailers are also not allowed. This lane has some tight turns and graves that are very close to the road. Please observe these restrictions to help us preserve those vulnerable (and mostly quite old) monuments and the graves beneath them.
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Do you know that there are 536 trees and shrubs (yes we counted them) at Parsons Cemetery, in over 50 different varieties? Visit our "Preserving our Environment" page parsonscemetery.com/preserving-our-environment/
to learn more about them. Better yet, visit the cemetery and take the self-guided tour of our woody flora!
Preserving Our Environment - Parsons Cemetery
parsonscemetery.com
Parsons Cemetery is both an operational cemetery and an urban green space. It is this parklike atmosphere that sets us apart from many cemeteries and we are dedicated to keeping it that way for future...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Parsons Cemetery honors our veterans on this Memorial day with many flags. Our signs over the front hedge have been changed to flags for this day, the graves of every veteran are marked with flags, and the flags on the pole behind the office honor each of the seven service branches. In the days when Salisbury had a Memorial Day parade, it ended, and the ceremonies were held, at the same pole that is standing today. Thank you to the volunteers who gave of their time, talent and money to renovate it. Another way for you to remember the veterans buried at Parsons is to take our self guided military tour parsonscemetery.com/parsons-heroes-and-veterans/
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Parsons Cemetery's thank you to Salisbury's First Responders
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/... See MoreSee Less
Blessing of the Animals
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.
Veteran's Day at Parsons Cemetery
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...... See MoreSee Less
Wreaths Across America at Parsons Cemetery
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