Laurel Hill Cemetery of Saco, Maine

Founded in 1844, Laurel Hill Cemetery was one of the first to follow the rural cemetery movement that began with Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These park-like arboretums provided peaceful, natural places to bury and visit the deceased. Nearly everyone who played a significant role in local history, as well as numerous less well-known people who led typical but historically revealing lives, has a grave in the cemetery. Authors Leslie and Emory Rounds chronicle the history of the cemetery and the fascinating stories of those buried there.
The executive director of the Dyer Library and Saco Museum, Leslie Rounds is an experienced author and historian who received a master of library science degree from Southern Connecticut State University. She has written two books on schoolgirl embroidery to accompany exhibitions at the Saco Museum and is the co-author of a photographic book, Saco Revisited, for the Images of America series. She has always been fascinated by the stories of people's lives.



Emory Rounds received his MA in history from Texas State University in 2010 and an MLIS from San Jose State University in 2017. He presently serves as the director of an academic library in southern Maine. In his spare time, he enjoys custom designing digital Lego models, writing steampunk and historical fiction novels, playing ball with his two border collies and watching BBC dramas.