Precious Blood Cemetery

South Hadley, Massachusetts
Hampshire County

Located on Route 33
South Hadley

Precious Blood Cemetery Sign

View of Cemetery from Road

The Cemetery
Precious Blood Cemetery is about four acres and was the parish cemetery of Precious Blood Church, of Holyoke (Hampden County). For this reason it has been included on the Hampden County web site. Precious Blood Chuch was primarily comprised of French Canadian Immigrants and as such you will see many French names on the tombstone inscriptions, many of which are written in French. Despite the fact that Precious Blood Cemetery is located in Hampshire County it is included here because of close connections to the city of Holyoke.

Background
In 1875, Precious Blood Church was burned to the ground by a quick raging fire during a Corpus Christi celebration Mass, you can read more about that terrible incident elsewhere on the site. Many of the articles at the aforementioned link list a multitude of people who are said to be buried in Precious Blood Cemetery, though for the most part there are no tombstones for these individuals though a memorial for the victims was recently erected (photos online soon).

Methodology
In creating a photo-inventory of this cemetery, I divided it into five sections based on where the road is, indicated on the map below. The tree line (dark green dots on the map) separates this cemetery from St. Rose, though there is no fence or other formal barrier between the two cemeteries. If you find a tombstone you wish to visit in person some day, this will help you locate it, as the section will be on the corresponding web page. Tombstones are located only in the green areas.

Precious Blood Cemetery

I inventoried each of the existing stones through digital photographs, available for viewing on these pages. Once all discernable data was organized it was transcribed into text. Many of the older stones are in worn and in poor condition. There are a number of unidentified older stones.

The Inventory Data
The inventory may be seen here. This is complete an inventory as possible considering the poor condition of many stones and lack of having an earlier inventory at hand for comparison.

Additions & Correction
Please let me know if there are additions or corrections. Maybe you are able to decipher some of the stones I am unable to read.

Copyright
These documents are free for personal non-commercial use as long as a source is cited. Not for republishing: permission must be requested and granted in writing beforehand. Images are digitally watermarked and copyrighted. Thank you for respecting my hard work which is provided for you to access at no charge.

Maps
The entrace to Precious Blood Cemetery can be easily accessed from Route 33 in South Hadley. For those who travel on Route 91, Exit 16 (to Route 202) is your best bet, from which a left turn onto Route 202 will eventually intersect with Route 33 and take you to the cemetery. Mass Turnpike travel can exit at Chicopee, though I do not have specific details and you are advised to check ahead of time for directions. There is plenty of safe parking available.

Prescious Blood Cemetery

Where to write for more information:
This cemetery is under the auspices of the Diocese of Springfield — if there are problems with any e-mail address, check the website for current contact list. Contact information for the Diocese:

Joseph M. Kostek
Diocesan Director of Cemeteries

j.kostek[at]diospringfield.org
Telephone: 413-452-0694

Lynn R. Camey
Cemetery Administrative Support Services

l.carney[at]diospringfield.org
Telephone: 413-452-0667

Office of the Director of Cemeteries
The Bishop Maguire Pastoral Center
65 Elliot Street
Springfield, MA 01101-1730

Web Site, Diocese of Springfield

| Precious Blood Tombstone Inventory |
| Town of South Hadley Page | Hampshire County |
| Western MA History & Genealogy |


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This page was last updated on 13 Sep 2005