Riverside Cemetery is a small burial ground located on Old Mill Road (which is actually someone's driveway), off Daniels Farm Road in Trumbull, Connecticut (not to be confused with the Riverside Cemeteries in Oxford and Shelton). It seems all of the burials date from throughout the 1800s, and several of Trumbull's early prominent families are interred here. There quite a few large obelisks, considering the small size of the cemetery. Common surnames found within the burial ground include Beach, Hubbell, Nichols, Plumb, Tait and Sterling, and there are a fair number of deacons among the male inhabitants. It seems as if several of the stones were recently cleaned and the sign has been replaced. Riverside is on the Connecticut Freedom Trail because it is the burial place of Nero Hawley.

Nero Hawley (1742-1817) was born into slavery in North Stratford (now Trumbull), Connecticut. He enlisted in the Continental Army on April 20, 1777 in place of his owner, Daniel Hawley, during the American Revolution. Private Nero Hawley spent the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania under General George Washington. On July 28, 1778 he fought in the Battle of Monmouth (New Jersey), and he spent the winter of 1778-1779 camped at Redding, Connecticut, at what is now Putnam Memorial State Park. Serving during the Revolutionary War secured Hawley his freedom and he was discharged on April 12, 1781 after being wounded in battle. After the war, Hawley became a brick maker. Hawley's grave is a point on the Connecticut Freedom Trail and his life was profiled in the book, From Valley Forge to Freedom, by E. Merrill Beach.

Estimated number of interments, as of June 2026: at least 228.

Photos taken 23 October 2008, 5 February 2019, and 25 June 2026.

The old sign for Riverside Cemetery (left) and the current sign (2026).

The entrance to Riverside Cemetery. 

NICHOLS

Roswell Starr Nichols

August 11, 1809

March 10. 1873

Esther Abby Sterling

His wife

October 23, 1812

January 11, 1894

George Marcus

Their son

July 13, 1834

July 22, 1897

George Marcus Nichols was a wealth farmer. On July 22, 1897, two men invaded the Trumbull home he shared with his sister, Mary. Charles A. Boinay and David A. Weeks robbed, shot and killed George, age 63. Mary, age 55, managed to survive despite receiving a bullet to the neck. The high-profile case warranted the governor of the state, Lorrin A. Cooke, to offer a $1,000 reward for information regarding the crime. (That would equal roughly $45,454.00 in 2026.) Boinay was executed on April 14, 1898 and Weeks received life imprisonment.

View of the cemetery from the front, left.

George Ritchie

son of Peter & Julia Ritchie

died 28 July 1868

age 7 months and 14 days

Legrand Sterling 

"Son of George C. & M.P. Sterling

Born Sept. 30, 1875

Died July 20, 1876."

Daughter Annie (1841 - 1867), 

mother Lydia (1813 - 1870) and 

father Elijah Beach (1809 - 1869).

(Before and after cleaning.)

A view of the cemetery, with the monument of Andrew Tait (1799 - 1890) and family in the background.

According to Andrew Tait's obituary, he was "the oldest and one of the best-known paper manufacturers in the country". He built the Tait and Sons Paper Mill on what is now Tait Mill Road, which borders the Pequonnock River and is walking distance Riverside Cemetery in Trumbull. The mill manufactured paper and strawboard products. The strawboard was used to make boxes which were designed to package corsets. The Tait and Sons Paper Mill remained in this location from 1836 until 1895. 

In addition to Tait, impressive monuments exist for the Nichols, Beach, Plumb, Nichols (again) and Sterling families.

A view of the cemetery from the entrance (front, right).

All photos copyright by the author, 2019. Not to be used or reproduced without permission.

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