Granary Burying Ground
The Granary Burying Ground is Boston's third-oldest cemetery, founded in 1660 and situated on Tremont Street in the heart of the city. Established just one year after Copp's Hill Burying Ground was laid out, the Granary has served for more than three and a half centuries as both a resting place for some of America's most consequential historical figures and a landmark destination along the city's celebrated Freedom Trail.[1] Recognized by the National Park Service as a place of rest for prominent Revolutionary figures, the cemetery draws visitors from around the world who come to pay their respects, trace their ancestry, and connect with the foundations of American independence.[2]
History and Origins
The Granary Burying Ground takes its name from a large grain storehouse that once stood adjacent to the site, near what is now Park Street Church. Founded in 1660, the cemetery predates the American Revolution by more than a century, having been established during the colonial period when Boston was still a relatively young settlement operating under British governance. Its location on Tremont Street placed it near the center of civic and religious life in the colonial town, a proximity that would only grow more significant as the decades passed and the neighborhood around it developed into the urban core of a new nation.
The cemetery's position beside Park Street Church became a defining geographic marker. When burials in the Granary eventually became rare, the church's presence remained a constant landmark. In 1944, a burial alongside that historic structure made news when Madelyn Connor, who died in Wellesley at the age of 90, was interred in the Granary in a grave beside Park Street Church — an event notable enough to merit coverage in The New York Times.[3]
By the twentieth century, burials at the Granary had become exceptionally rare. A 1931 report noted that a burial had taken place in the ground for the first time in twenty years, underscoring how the cemetery had transitioned from an active burial site into a preserved historical monument.[4] This shift reflected a broader pattern across Boston's historic burying grounds, which gradually ceased active use as the city developed new cemeteries in outlying neighborhoods and as preservation concerns mounted around the older, historically sensitive sites.
Revolutionary Significance
Few burial grounds in the United States carry as much significance to the founding of the nation as the Granary. The National Park Service designates the site as a place of rest for prominent Revolutionary figures, and this designation is reflected in the remarkable concentration of historically important individuals interred there.[5] The cemetery's association with the American Revolution and the events that preceded it in Boston has made it an essential stop along the Freedom Trail, the marked walking route through the city's most significant Revolutionary-era sites.
Among the monuments found within the grounds is the Franklin Monument, which drew particular attention from visitors in earlier eras. A late nineteenth-century report described visitors thronging the Granary to read the inscription on the Franklin Monument with what the correspondent characterized as eager interest and awe, suggesting that even in the 1890s the cemetery functioned as a site of popular historical pilgrimage.[6]
The Boston Massacre of 1770 holds a particular resonance at the Granary. Several of the victims of that confrontation — widely considered a catalyst for the Revolutionary movement — are buried in the ground. This connection to among the most symbolically charged events of the pre-Revolutionary period has ensured that the cemetery remains a site of solemn commemoration. In 2020, on the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Granary Burying Ground by a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, marking the occasion with a formality that reflected the continuing civic importance of the site.[7]
Notable Burials and Monuments
The Granary Burying Ground contains the graves of individuals whose lives and actions shaped the trajectory of American history. The Franklin Monument stands as one of the more visually prominent features of the grounds, attracting visitors who pause to read its text and reflect on the figures it commemorates. The monument and the graves surrounding it represent a concentrated physical archive of the colonial and Revolutionary periods in Boston's history.
The cemetery's burials span a broad chronological range, from the mid-seventeenth century through the twentieth. The interment of Madelyn Connor in 1944, at the age of 90 and in a grave situated beside Park Street Church, represented one of the final chapters in the cemetery's history as an active burial site, though the event was treated at the time as a continuation of a tradition stretching back nearly three centuries.[8]
The concentration of American patriots buried within the Granary's boundaries has made it a natural gathering point for patriotic observance and civic memory. The cemetery functions not merely as a repository for the remains of historical figures but as a physical space where the ideals and struggles of the Revolutionary era remain present and accessible to the public.
Public Access and Tourism
The Granary Burying Ground has long attracted visitors, and its accessibility to the public has been a defining feature of its modern identity. Located on Tremont Street in the heart of downtown Boston, the cemetery is easily reached on foot and sits along the Freedom Trail, ensuring a steady flow of visitors throughout the year.
Independence Day has historically been among the busiest times at the Granary. The Boston Globe reported that the cemetery was a popular attraction on the Fourth of July, when the resting place of a number of American patriots draws crowds seeking a tangible connection to the nation's founding.[9] The cemetery's combination of historical depth, prominent burials, and central location makes it particularly suited to the commemorative spirit of the holiday.
Visits to the cemetery are not limited to major holidays. Throughout the warmer months, tour groups, school parties, and individual visitors make their way through the grounds, pausing at notable headstones and monuments. The Franklin Monument, in particular, has long served as a focal point for visitors. Reports from as far back as the 1890s describe visitors gathering at the monument and examining its inscriptions with care, indicating that the Granary's role as a tourist destination predates the modern era of heritage tourism by well over a century.[10]
The cemetery also serves as a venue for organized commemorative events. The Daughters of the American Revolution and similar civic organizations have used the space for formal observances, including wreath-laying ceremonies tied to significant historical anniversaries.[11] These events reinforce the Granary's status as a living site of civic memory rather than simply a preserved artifact.
Location and Setting
The Granary Burying Ground is situated on Tremont Street in Boston, adjacent to Park Street Church. The church, which borders the cemetery, provides one of the site's most recognizable visual contexts and serves as a navigational landmark for visitors approaching from the Boston Common or the nearby Park Street MBTA Station. The juxtaposition of the historic burying ground with the active church reinforces the layered quality of the neighborhood, where colonial-era structures stand alongside the rhythms of contemporary urban life.
The Tremont Street location places the Granary within easy walking distance of several other significant historical sites, including the Massachusetts State House and the Boston Common. This geographic clustering of historic landmarks along the Freedom Trail route has contributed to the Granary's integration into the broader visitor experience of downtown Boston's historical district.
The cemetery's setting on a busy urban street means that it operates within a notably active environment. Despite the surrounding activity, the grounds maintain a character of solemnity, particularly during organized commemorative events or early morning hours when the flow of pedestrian traffic is lighter.
Preservation and Designation
The Granary Burying Ground holds a formal designation as a Freedom Trail site, administered in partnership with the National Park Service, which recognizes its significance as a place of rest for prominent Revolutionary figures.[12] This designation reflects a broader framework for recognizing and maintaining the historic resources of downtown Boston, particularly those connected to the American Revolution and the colonial period.
Preservation of the cemetery's headstones, monuments, and grounds has been an ongoing concern given the age of many of the markers and the environmental challenges posed by an urban setting. The transition of the Granary from an active burial ground to a preserved historical site — a process effectively complete by the mid-twentieth century — has allowed preservation efforts to focus on maintaining existing features rather than accommodating new interments.
The 1931 report of the first burial in the ground in twenty years highlighted the degree to which the cemetery had already, by that point, assumed its role as a historic monument rather than a functioning burial ground.[13] The subsequent decades reinforced this transition, and the Granary is today maintained as a public historic site open to visitors as part of the Freedom Trail experience.