Boston Historic Burying Grounds

Winged skulls on the Freedom Trail

⏱ 1.5-2 hours👤 All agesFree

The history: Boston buried its dead in these grounds from the 1630s onward, and the oldest stones record the first generations of the colony, the smallpox years, the Revolution and the city's long Puritan relationship with death, which favored stark reminders over comfort. The iconography changed over time, from the grinning winged skull to winged cherubs to urns and willows, and walking the grounds in order is a lesson in how Americans thought about mortality. Many stones were rearranged in the nineteenth century to make neat rows for mowing, so a headstone does not always mark the exact grave, a fact the guides on paid tours love to share. Each ground has its own highlights. At the Granary, look for the stone of Mary Goose, long linked by legend to Mother Goose, and the obelisk raised over Benjamin Franklin's parents; King's Chapel holds the Mayflower passenger Mary Chilton; Copp's Hill holds the Puritan ministers Increase and Cotton Mather and Prince Hall, the founder of Black Freemasonry in America, along with a stone said to bear the marks of British musket balls fired in target practice during the occupation; and Central, opened on the Common in the 1750s, holds British soldiers among its dead.

Visiting well: start at Granary and King's Chapel, two minutes apart near the Old State House and the Omni Parker House, then walk the Freedom Trail to Copp's Hill in the North End, and finish at Central on the Common. Stick to the paths, do not touch or rub the stones, and allow time to read the inscriptions, which are the real pleasure. Hours run roughly 9am to 4pm daily, so plan the grounds by day and the ghost tours by night.

Building the trip: pair the grounds with Ghosts and Gravestones after dark, a stay at the Omni Parker House across the street from King's Chapel, and a day trip to Salem. In October the Freedom Trail is busy, but the burying grounds rarely feel crowded early in the day.