Overview
- Officers confirmed that a bronze plaque marking the historic African American section at Old Hill Burying Ground was pried off a granite block and stolen.
- Investigators found no witnesses or usable video after canvassing the area around the cemetery.
- Similar plaques were reported missing from Oak Hill Cemetery, Cashman Park, and Atkinson Common, with police also coordinating with a neighboring town after a related report.
- Police asked residents to watch cemeteries and city property for suspicious activity and to share tips at 978-462-4411.
- Local historians say the stolen tablets are original pieces more than a century old that honor ministers, Revolutionary War soldiers, and the names of Black residents buried in unmarked graves at a site dating to 1729.