Things to do nearCopps Hill Burying Ground

Established in 1659, Copps Hill Burying Ground is Boston's second-oldest cemetery and the primary burial site for residents of the North End through the colonial and revolutionary eras. More than ten thousand people are interred here, including free Black Bostonians whose community, known as New Guinea, once occupied the hill's northern slope.

The gravestones themselves are a study in early American funerary art. Craftsmen carved slate markers with death's-heads, hourglasses, and cherubs that chart a gradual shift in Puritan attitudes toward mortality across several generations. The tombstone of the Mather family, including influential ministers Increase and Cotton Mather, draws particular attention from history enthusiasts.

During the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, British soldiers used the elevated ground as an artillery position, and musket ball marks are still visible on some headstones. The hill's height also provides one of the more quietly scenic vantage points in the North End, with views stretching toward Charlestown and the harbor.

Copps Hill Burying Ground rewards slow, attentive visits. It sits steps from the Old North Church and the lively restaurants of Hanover Street, making it a natural pause within a longer exploration of Boston's oldest neighborhood.