"The Old Bedford Burying Ground, located within the Old Bedford Center National Historic District, dates back to the incorporation of Bedford in 1729. On October 23, 1729, Israel Putnam, a local deacon, sold an acre of land to the Town of Bedford to serve as the Town's burial ground. The cemetery remained open until 1849, when the new Shawsheen Cemetery was opened in the eastern part of town. Individuals buried there include Bedford Minutemen and Militiamen who fought at Concord and along Battle Road on April 19, 1775 and Black Revolutionary soldiers. The Old Bedford Burying Ground contains 386 headstones, 284 footstones, 6 monuments and 14 mound tombs, which record the names of approximately 496 individuals." http://www.bedfordma.gov/cemetery-division