Central Burying Ground

On the edge of Boston Common, Central Burying Ground dates to 1756 and offers a quiet place to read the city’s history in its gravestones. British soldiers, American patriots and artist Gilbert Stuart are among those buried here. The cemetery also holds people who died in Boston’s 1792 smallpox epidemic. Many inscriptions have weathered over time, but the surviving stones and the range of people commemorated make this a thoughtful stop for anyone exploring Boston’s past.

A cemetery established in 1756

Central Burying Ground was established in 1756, when this corner of Boston Common was outside the city’s busiest areas. It became Boston’s fourth cemetery, created as existing burial grounds, including King’s Chapel, Copp’s Hill and Granary Burying Ground, faced overcrowding.

People from very different backgrounds were buried here. The cemetery holds British soldiers who died during the Revolutionary War, including casualties of the Battle of Bunker Hill, as well as American patriots. French Roman Catholics and other people who died in Boston are also among those interred here.

Graves, inscriptions and changes to the grounds

Gilbert Stuart, the portraitist whose work includes likenesses of George and Martha Washington, is the cemetery’s best-known burial. Graves from the 1792 Boston smallpox epidemic connect the site to the city’s public health history. Some headstones have eroded, so inscriptions can be difficult to make out; looking up a burial in advance can help you find particular people.

The grounds changed as Boston grew. New burials were prohibited in 1826, though that restriction was temporarily lifted in 1836 to allow additional tombs. In 1835 and 1836, a row of tombs was removed to connect Boylston and Tremont Streets. Remains displaced by the work were moved to an area known as the Dell, at the west end of the grounds.