There are few things that break my heart more than an unkempt cemetery. I doubt that anyone expects their final resting place will eventually turn to ruin, but unfortunately, that’s what’s happened to Gowan Cemetery. I set out on a recent sunny weekday to explore the many burial grounds on Duck Pond Road in Westbrook. I initially drove right past Gowan Cemetery – it’s an easy place to miss. Set far back from the road and partially obscured by a split level home, the grounds of Gowan Cemetery are overgrown to an extreme degree. My partner spotted one of the headstones on our second trip down the road, and we stopped at the home in front to inquire about the property. As no one was home, we decided to take our chances and traverse the yard up a hill to where we could see the headstones. Directly in front (or, perhaps, in back?) of Gowan Cemetery lie an old trailer and a downed basketball hoop. Tromping through the long grasses, we finally made it to the site. But the investigation got no easier from there. Not only have long grasses and shrubs begun to overpower the headstones, but tree roots have begun to disrupt the markers. We traipsed through the brush, our pant legs getting torn and tangled by countless thorns. I couldn’t imagine how Gowan Cemetery fell into such disrepair.
According to my visual examination of the site, it wasn’t too long ago when the last individual was buried there. As recently as the 1930s, Gowan Cemetery was active – so how did it fall into its current state? Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to answer that question. I left a note in the mailbox of the home in front of the cemetery grounds, giving the residents my phone number and e-mail address. I explained my project and that I would love to know more about the place – but I’ve yet to hear from them.
It’s likely that Gowan Cemetery served as a small family burial ground. Perhaps the former residents of Duck Pond Road banded together to develop the space as a neighborhood cemetery. The area was once all agricultural land, now divided up and converted to housing. But it seems plausible that the farmers who once inhabited the area would have been close to one another. There are a few dozen headstones, but only a handful of family names are represented. Members of the Gowan, Pride, Staples, Leighton, Knight, Gordon, and Barbour families are to be found in the cemetery. Most of those interred in Gowan Cemetery lived in the early to mid 19th century.
When I begin my research, I learn that the two oldest interments are unmarked graves(1). One belongs to Stephen Gowan, son of James and Edna, who was a mere 12 days old when he was buried in 1794. The other is that of Mary Gowan, another child of James and Edna, who passed away in 1780 at the age of one. When I search for the children in the Ancestry.com database, I find that their mother, Edna, was a Knight by birth(2). This helps explain the connection between the Gowans and Knights buried in the cemetery.
James Gowan was born in Kittery, lived briefly in Falmouth, then married Edna (3). He purchased land, “…near the Duck Pond on Duck Pond Road”(4) and became a farmer, lumberman, and tavern owner. But the same record on Ancestry.com tells me that in 1776 he had become a Quaker (5) – so was he really both a tavern owner and a member of the Quaker faith? According to the current Portland Friends Meeting website, Quakers do imbibe if they so choose (6). Thus, James’ life seems to greatly resemble that of his neighbor, George Hale. Both would have been sustaining their families in a variety of methods, including farming and tavern ownership.
When we left Gowan Cemetery, we drove past a well-kept home about a half mile down the road. From one of the trees in its front yard hangs a sign reading, “Gowan Homestead: Est. 1815”. Could this have been the home of one of the individuals interred in Gowan Cemetery? Quite possibly. I knocked on the door but, unfortunately, no one was home.
I wonder why the Gowan Cemetery is in such a state of disrepair. Was it merely a matter of location? The area around the grounds is densely wooded and overgrown – was it always this way, or has its upkeep been neglected by modern generations? My friend and I discussed going to clear some of the brush and perhaps clean some of the stones, but we’d have to get permission from the property owners first. Hopefully we can spend a few days this summer clearing the area and giving the families at Gowan Cemetery the respect they’re due.
Notes:
1. Gowan Cemetery, Westbrook Historical Society.
2. Family Tree, Ancestry.com.
3. Family Tree, Ancestry.com.
4. Family Tree, Ancestry.com.
5. Family Tree, Ancestry.com.
6. What Do Quakers Believe?, Portland Friends Meeting.
Plot Summaries 
In answer to your question as to how it has become neglected the answer is the current owners of the house in front of it. I spoke with a neighbor who used to take care of it while I was visiting there just last week who used to tend it 8 to 10 years back before the house was sold to the current owners they are against anyone cleaning it up. He informed me the Gowin descendants have tried to no avail to work with the home owner to get it back to the way it was. Yes, it is a disgrace that it has fallen into this state. I am a direct descendant of Henry Pride hence the visit. We are hoping to get something done about this before its too late.