Tombstones at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, part of Boston National Historical Park

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See the Cemeteries web page for an interactive location map.

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LOCATION

Hull and Snowhill streets in Boston.

MANAGEMENT AND WEB SITE

Copp’s Hill Burying Ground is owned by the city of Boston. For more information, visit the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground web page.

OPERATING HOURS

Daily from 9 AM to 4 PM

VISITING THE CEMETERY

Tombstones at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston National Historical Park

The original cemetery in Boston is what is now called the King’s Chapel Burying Ground, though it has no affiliation with the church next door. It was established in 1630 and got its current name in the mid-1700s due to its physical association with the church. When first opened, it was simply called the Burying Place. By the late 1650s it was just about full, so the city of Boston established Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in 1659. It was referred to as the New Burying Ground, and the Burying Place took on the name The Old Burying Ground.

A year later, what is now called the Granary Burying Ground opened. Of course it was now the new burying ground, not Copp’s. The two eventually took the names North Burying Ground (Copp’s) and South Burying Ground (Granary). Over time the names changed again to reflect locations and landmarks. The North Burying Ground was located on a hill once owned by William Copp, while an actual granary (a building to store grain) was built next to the South Burying Ground in 1737.

The current Copp’s Hill Burying Ground is much larger than it was originally, having been expanded in 1711, 1809, and 1825. It is estimated that around 10,000 bodies are buried here, including a thousand Africans who were brought to America as slaves. However, only about 2,200 tombstones remain, most dated before 1825. In fact, the large majority of burials at the cemetery took place before the American Revolution. The last burials took place in 1968.

Grave of Sampson Waters from 1693 in the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston National Historical Park

The tombstones were originally placed haphazardly around the cemetery. In the early 1800s, cemeteries were becoming more like parks than places to bury a body. Many people began removing dead relatives from the unkempt Boston city cemeteries and reinterring them at fancier church- and private-owed cemeteries. To keep up with the times, in the 1830s the Boston cemeteries were remodeled with sidewalks and trees, and the tombstones were arranged in organized rows. However, the graves themselves were not moved, which means the tombstones are no longer over the actual bodies that they once belonged to.

Tombstones at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in Boston are now aligned neatly in rows

There are seven wayside exhibits placed throughout the cemetery that provide a wealth of information about the important people who are now permanent residents at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. Not only are names mentioned, but interesting stories are provided was well.

Wayside exhibit at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston National Historical Park

While there are many important people in the cemetery, none are nationally famous; a few may be recognized by history buffs. One such person is Robert Newman, one of two men believed to have hung the lanterns in the Old North Church tower on the night of April 18, 1775.

Memorial marker for Robert Newman in the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston National Historical Park

The oldest surviving tombstone in the cemetery belongs to David Copp, grandson of William Copp. David died as an infant in 1661. His brother Thomas, who died in 1678 at the age of three, is buried next to him.

Tombstones of David and Thomas Copp in the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston National Historical Park

Other notable people buried at the cemetery are Increase (what a name), Cotton, and Samuel Mather, a father and sons combo of highly influential Puritan ministers from the late 1600s and early 1700s. The style of the family grave is called a table top marker. Such grave markers provide a table for living family members who want to have a picnic at the cemetery. Below ground is an actual tomb that can hold multiple people—there is nobody in the above-ground structure. Based on similar tombs that have been opened due to damage, most coffins have rotted or the shelves holding the coffins have collapsed, creating nothing more than a pile of wood and bones on the crypt floor.

Mather family tomb in the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston National Historical Park

One memorial that stands out among the common slate tombstones is that of Prince Hall. A slave who was freed in 1769, Hall went on to become one of the leaders of the Boston abolition movement. He founded the African Lodge of the Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of Boston, the first black Freemason lodge. He died in 1807, but the fancy memorial marker was placed in 1895 by the Prince Hall Masons.

Grave of Prince Hall in the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston National Historical Park

The British set up an artillery battery near the cemetery in April 1775, and on June 17^th began shelling Charlestown on the other side of the Charles River as an opening move in the Battle of Bunker Hill. In their idle time, British soldiers are said to have taken target practice on the graves of those known to have been disloyal to the King. One in particular, that of Captain Daniel Malcom, bears a number of holes that could very likely have been made by bullets.

Bullet holes in the tombstone of Daniel Malcom in the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston National Historical Park

One other tombstone of note, though not because it belongs to anyone famous, is an example of early efforts to recycle—and save money. Stone carvers often reused markers of long forgotten people when carving new tombstones. Most likely these were used for the graves of vagrants or poor people, because I can’t imagine anyone with money agreeing to the reuse of an old tombstone.

Recycled tombstone (front and back) in the Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston National Historical Park

SCHEDULING YOUR TIME

Since there aren’t many “must see” graves at Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, a half hour visit will do for most people. In this amount of time I was able to read all of the information on the wayside exhibits and see the most interesting graves.

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