Burial Hill is a historic cemetery or burying ground on School Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Established in the 17th century, it is the burial site of several Pilgrims, the founding settlers of Plymouth Colony. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

Description

Burial Hill is located just west of Plymouth's Main Street, which parallels the shoreline of Plymouth Bay, and is at the southwest end of

Leyden Street Leyden Street (Originally named First Street, afterward in the Records called Great and Broad Street; named Leyden Street in 1823, also known as Leiden Street or The Street), is a street in Plymouth, Massachusetts that was created in 1620 by the P ...

, which parallels Town Brook to the south, and was the first street laid out when the Plymouth Colony was founded in 1620. The hill rises above sea level, and provides commanding views over the surrounding landscape and coastline. The main entrance to the cemetery is just north of the

First Parish Church in Plymouth First Parish Church in Plymouth is a historic Unitarian Universalist church at the base of Burial Hill on the town square off Leyden Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The congregation was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims in Plymouth. The curre ...

, whose current building is the fifth to stand on the same site. A network of paved footpaths are laid out through the cemetery's , with stairs located along steeper sections. There are more than 2,000 marked graves, dating from 1680 to 1957.

History

The first Pilgrim burial ground was on nearby Cole's Hill in 1620-21. Originally, the Pilgrims constructed a fort on top of Burial Hill in 1621-22 (a reconstruction exists in nearby

Plimoth Plantation Plimoth Patuxet is a complex of living history museums in Plymouth, Massachusetts, founded in 1947. Formerly Plimoth Plantation, it replicates the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony established in the 17th century by the English colon ...

).Frank Herman Perkins
Handbook of old Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts: Its history, its famous dead, and its quaint epitaphs
(A.S. Burbank, 1896), pg. 8-10 The Burial Hill fort also served as a meeting house for the colony and for the First Parish Church until 1677. According to tradition, the first grave on Burial Hill was Pilgrim John Howland's. However, he did not die until 1672; other people claimed to be buried there died considerably earlier. First Parish's congregation currently meets in an 1899 church building at the base of Burial Hill on the town square, near where it first met in 1621.Frank Herman Perkins
Handbook of old Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts: Its history, its famous dead, and its quaint epitaphs
(A.S. Burbank, 1896), pg. 7

Notable burials and cenotaphs

Mary Allerton Mary Allerton Cushman (c. 1616 – 28 November 1699) was a Dutch settler of Plymouth Colony in what is now Massachusetts. She was the last surviving passenger of the ''Mayflower''. She arrived at Plymouth on the ''Mayflower'' when she was about ...

, Pilgrim, last surviving '' Mayflower'' passenger * William Bradford, Pilgrim, Governor * William Brewster, church elder * Thomas Cushman, Ruling Elder of the Plymouth Colony, 1649-1691 * Robert Cushman, organizer of the Mayflower expedition (cenotaph at

Cushman Monument Cushman may refer to: *Cushman (name) *Cushman (company), an American vehicle manufacturer *Cushman (mango), a mango cultivar Places in the United States *Cushman, Arkansas, a city in Arkansas * Cushman, Michigan, a ghost town *Cushman, Oregon, ...

) *

Edward Doty Edward Doty (August 23, 1655) was a passenger on the 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' to North America; he was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact. Early life Doty came from England, but from where in England is currently unknown. A pos ...

, ''Mayflower'' passenger *

Francis Cooke Francis Cooke (c.1583 – April 7, 1663) was a Leiden Separatist, who went to America in 1620 on the Pilgrim ship ''Mayflower'', which arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was a founding member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and a signer o ...

, Pilgrim, ''Mayflower'' passenger * John Howland, Pilgrim, ''Mayflower'' passenger *

Adoniram Judson Adoniram Judson (August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was an American Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Judson was ...

, Christian missionary to Asia *

Thomas Prence Thomas Prence (c. 1601 – March 29, 1673) was a New England colonist who arrived in the colony of Plymouth in November 1621 on the ship ''Fortune''. In 1644 he moved to Eastham, which he helped found, returning later to Plymouth. For many years, ...

, Colonial Governor *

Zabdiel Sampson Zabdiel Sampson (August 22, 1781 – July 19, 1828) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Early life Sampson was born in Plympton, Massachusetts on August 22, 1781. He was the eldest of nine children born to George Sampson (1755–1826) ...

, Congressman * James Warren, Patriot leader * Mercy Otis Warren, author * Richard Warren, Pilgrim, ''Mayflower'' passenger *Elizabeth Walker Warren, Pilgrim, ''Anne'' passenger * Squanto Native American Friend of The Pilgrims

Image gallery

File:John Howland Grave in Plymouth MA.jpg, John Howland's grave File:William Harlow House in Plymouth MA.jpg,

Harlow Old Fort House The Harlow Old Fort House is a First Period historic house at 119 Sandwich Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts. History According to legend, Sergeant William Harlow built the house in 1677 using timbers from the Pilgrims' original fort on Buria ...

in Plymouth made of timbers from the Burial Hill Fort File:Burial Hill Fort in Plymouth MA.jpg, Burial Hill Fort, housed the original church in Plymouth File:First Parish Church in Plymouth MA.jpg,

(now Unitarian Universalist) at the base of Burial Hill, is a continuation of the original Pilgrim church File:First Parish Church in Plymouth Mass.jpg,

File:Site of First Fort and Meeting House on Burial Hill in Plymouth.jpg, Site of 1621 First Fort and Meeting House on Burial Hill File:Burial Hill in Plymouth Massachusetts.jpg, Burial Hill, cemetery entrance File:Plimoth Plantation fort and meeting house.jpg, recreation of original Burial Hill fort/meeting house at

File:Map of early Plymouth MA home lots.png, Map of early Plymouth home lots File:2015-07-16 040 Plymouth MA.jpg, Powder House, 2015 File:2015-07-16 032 Plymouth MA.jpg, Edward Gray Grave, 2015 File:2015-07-16 031 Plymouth MA.jpg, Memorial to the children of John and Elizabeth Howland, 2015 File:William Crowe Grave Plymouth MA.jpg, William Crowe Grave, 2015

References

External links