Mary Elizabeth Hawley has long been referred to as “The Benefactress of Newtown.”

Her father died in 1899, when Mary was in her early 40s; her mother died in 1920, when Mary was 63 years old. Both left substantial estates, which were inherited by Miss Hawley.

Her gifts to town began before her death in May 1930, and her generosity continues to help this town’s residents learn, gather, and honor the dead through the creation of a free public library, the town’s first building to house all municipal offices, and an expanded cemetery, among other offerings.

Members of The Garden Club of Newtown, Newtown Historical Society, The Mary Hawley Society, and Newtown Village Cemetery Association gathered at Newtown Village Cemetery for a celebration on Sunday, August 11. The gathering recognized the gifts Miss Hawley made 100 years ago to improve the grounds that include sections dating back to before the founding of Newtown.

Approximately 25 guests attended the one-hour event, gathering around the Hawley Memorial Vault just inside the main entrance of the burial grounds along Elm Drive.

Garden Club President Paula Toi was joined by Bronson Hawley, a distant relative of Mary Hawley and a member of The Society of the Hawley Family; and Maureen Crick Owen, president of Newtown Village Cemetery Association, also welcomed members of the Newtown Historical Society.

Hawley and Crick Owen both spoke about the gift of the gates and offered some of the history of the cemetery.

Guests toasted Miss Hawley with glasses of lemonade.

Brief History

Following the death of her mother, Mary Hawley’s philanthropy — which had already emerged through the construction of The Hawley School in 1920, named to honor her parents — grew during the next decade.

Having inherited Ram Pasture from her mother’s side of the family, Mary began to focus on that and the neighboring Newtown Village Cemetery.

Following the advice of her trusted friend and financial adviser Arthur T. Nettleton, Mary in 1924 donated a large tract of land to the cemetery, extending the cemetery grounds to the west.

She also funded preservation of the oldest section of the cemetery, and arranged to have the front entrance landscaped.

Further, she financed the front entrance gates off Elm Drive, tying in to already existing wrought iron fencing. Miss Hawley also paid for the design and construction of The Hawley Memorial Vault including a Tiffany stained glass window, “solid roadways” within the grounds, and even saw to the construction of a bridge connecting Main Street (now South Main) to the cemetery.

In 1928, her funding created a small lake, Hawley Pond, to the east of the cemetery.

After her death, her obituary called Newtown Village Cemetery “one of the most beautiful God’s acres in Connecticut” and said “the entire cemetery is like one great park,” in large part due to Mary’s efforts.

Read more here: The ABCs Of Newtown: H Is For (Mary) Hawley, Part One

and here: The ABCs Of Newtown: H Is For (Mary) Hawley, Part Two

and here: Details From Mary Hawley's Will