The graves on this land remained unmarked and unnoticed for nearly 200 years until 1975 when a group of Plymouth residents began working on improving the small cemetery where several black men, slaves and Revolutionary War soldiers, are buried.

Four young men, Plato Turner, Prince Goodwin, Quamany Quash, and Cato Howe; African-Americans from Plymouth, served in the American Revolution. Following the War, the town of Plymouth granted them acreage near the Kingston border in an area known as Parting Ways. Howe, Turner, Goodwin and Quash - with their families - established a settlement there known as the New Guinea Settlement.

For the past 35 years, Parting Ways, The Museum of Afro-American Ethnohistory, has worked to improve and dignify the cemetery and ensure it receives the recognition it deserves.

A new sign was dedicated to the cemetery explaining the importance of this site.
"The site never had an official interpretive historic sign that includes the bio and history of the site and the Afro-American veterans," Lynda Thomas-LeGay, the former president of Parting Ways, said. "The sign, as well as cooperation with the Plymouth County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Destination Plymouth, has satisfied a lot of the Parting Ways goals."

Visit Our Site

Parting Ways Cemetery

508 747-0100

Corner Of Bishops Highway & Plympton Street, Kingston, MA 02364

Related Inspiration

MASSACHUSETTS MASTERPIECE TRAIL

A statewide collection of 24 diverse works of art, from oil paintings to taxidermy frogs…

Want to see more?

Search All Listings