Copp’s Hill Burying Ground crowns a rise in Boston’s North End, overlooking the harbor and the Charlestown shore. Founded in 1659, it is the second-oldest cemetery in the city after King’s Chapel Burying Ground and holds more than 1,200 marked graves. Among those buried here are colonial ministers of the Mather family, artisans, merchants, and many free and enslaved Black residents of the nearby New Guinea community.
A stop on Boston’s Freedom Trail, Copp’s Hill offers weathered slate headstones, some still bearing musket-ball scars said to date from British target practice during the Revolution. From its heights, British forces are believed to have trained cannon on Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill. The hilltop setting gives sweeping views toward the harbor, and the burying ground sits just a short walk from the Old North Church, making it an easy pairing on a North End walking tour.
Good to know
- Free to visit and a designated stop on the Freedom Trail
- Founded in 1659, it is the second-oldest burying ground in Boston
- Members of the prominent Mather family are buried here, along with many residents of the early Black North End community
- Set on a hilltop with harbor views, a short walk from the Old North Church
Getting there
- Address: Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Hull Street (near Snowhill Street), North End, Boston, MA 02113
- Neighborhood: North End
- Nearest T: North Station (Green and Orange Lines); Haymarket (Green and Orange Lines) is also within walking distance