In early New England graveyards, such as Adams Cemetery in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, grave markers are irreplaceable historical documents that tell stories carved in stone. (Photos by the author)

?You?re riding your motorcycle to find graveyards ? on purpose"? The conversation with a young police officer on a road construction detail in western Massachusetts was brief, but it motivated me to share why old graveyards are fascinating places to explore.

Rewind to the 1970s. My dad was a college professor whose academic interests included early New England graveyards. On weekends and summer vacations, he dragged my sisters and me along to find them. Long before GPS, such trips often became a quest since Dad?s approach to navigating involved dead reckoning. ?I wonder where that road goes"? he?d say. ?One way to find out.? It?s fair to say that Dad informed my interest in exploring on motorcycles.
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Since Massachusetts has some of America?s oldest communities settled by Europeans, it has some of the country?s oldest graveyards. Three of Dad?s favorites were in the towns of Longmeadow, Deerfield, and Wilbraham, all in the Connecticut River Valley of western Mass. I decide to revisit these graveyards with the benefit of an adult perspective. Since they?re not even 40 miles apart, I extend the ride a couple hundred miles using Dad?s ?I wonder where that road goes? approach, and along the way I find othe...