NEW HAVEN — A 90-minute history lesson Saturday on the departed didn’t star Mark Wahlberg or Jack Nicholson or Leonardo DiCaprio.

The draw to Grove Street Cemetery, for a group of about 20 people, was the chance to tour monuments and grave sites that mark the passing of legends such as New Haven’s first mayor, Roger Sherman, who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; inventors Charles Goodyear and Eli Whitney; dictionary publisher Noah Webster; and Walter C. Camp, "the father of American football."

Standing just inside the Egyptian-style entry gate, designed by architect Henry Austin, who also is interred there, tour guide Patricia Illingworth said the cemetery was chartered in 1797, after yellow fever outbreaks left a cluttered burial ground behind what is now Center Church on the Green.

"This is a place where people come and do a lot of contemplating and soul searching," Illingworth said.

The stories of distinguished citizens buried in this peaceful landmark are stirring. Take, for instance, Mary Goodman, a black woman who bequeathed $5,000 to establish a scholarship for black students to study where she could not, at Yale Divinity School.

"She earned it doing laundry," said Illingworth, head docent for the Friends of Grove Street Cemetery.

There’s Arthur Twining Hadley, who was president of Yale University from 1899 to 1921, the era when women were first admitted. He died in Japan during an Oriental cruise in 1930 and, uniquely, is buried in Samurai costume, Illingworth said.

The headstones also relay message from the families of the buried. Sherman was buried beneath a table icon, denoting both his stature and religious convictions, as a symbol of the Last Supper.

Carvings of shells and hands with the index finger pointing upward show belief in a higher power, and curtains denoted a thin separation from the afterlife. The tombstone of Carrie Gould, who died just short of her sixth birthday in 1858, depicts a girl with three-quarters of her face, showing "a child was cut down early in life," Illingworth said.

Headstones for Union soldiers are smooth and round at the top, while those of Confederate soldiers are peaked.

Saturday’s trek through the 200-year-old cemetery was co-hosted by the Smoking Gun Research Agency, which investigates claims of paranormal activity. SGRA Director Jon Nowinski said some people have reported seeing apparitions and strange lights at the cemetery. "Some have also reported hearing whisperings," he said. "Those are the top three."

Nancy and George Lemieaux have lived in New Haven all of their lives and took a tour of Grove Street Cemetery for the first time on Saturday. "I found it interesting that there were so many blank stones, and how old they must be," Nancy Lemieaux said. "I don’t have a plot. That’s why I asked if they were still burying people."

Illingworth said there are about 1,200 plots still available for sale.

Nowinski said SGRA is hosting its ninth annual paranormal conference on June 9 and 10 at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Milford. General admission is free. For more information, call 247-0310 or visit www.sgra-media.org.

The cemetery is open to the public on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you are interested in arranging a group or special interest tour, call Illingworth at 787-1443.

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