The Tolman Cemetery is located in a built-up rural section of Rockland, Knox County, Maine. The cemetery was donated to the town by Isaiah Tolman in 1783 as the first public burial ground in the vicinity. The cemetery is significant under Criterion A for its association with early exploration and settlement in the area. The majority of graves dates from 1788 to 1850 and represents early families who settled the area. A large number of the graves are of early town officials, Revolutionary War soldiers and War of 1812 soldiers. The graves represent a cross-section of the early settlers of Blackington's Corner a rural settlement that was later overshadowed by the City of Rockland as economic forces changed and the population center shifted to the coast. The black marble grave markers reflect the local limestone that drove the shift from a subsistence farming economy to one based on exploitation of raw materials and trade. The cemetery is also significant under Criterion C for the folk art carvings on many of the stones. The primitive death heads appear to be the work of an unidentified local carver or carvers. The Tolman Cemetery meets Criteria Consideration D: cemeteries because it derives its primary significance from its age, association with early local settlement patterns and folk art. The locally significant cemetery has a period of significance from 1788 to 1823. The period is established by the date of the earliest grave marker and the date of the close of initial settlement in this area.