Copp's Hill Burying Ground

Copp's Hill Burying Ground occupies a hilltop at 45 Hull Street in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1659 and named after William Copp, who owned the land, it is the second-oldest cemetery in the city after King's Chapel Burying Ground. It holds about 10,000 burials by estimates, and it served the North End's artisans, merchants, clergy and a notable free Black community that lived in the neighborhood at the foot of the hill in the 18th century. The cemetery contains the tombs of the Mather family, including the ministers Increase, Cotton and Samuel Mather, whose influence on Puritan New England was considerable. Another well-known marker belongs to Daniel Malcolm, a patriot whose gravestone bears marks made by British soldiers using it for target practice. During the Battle of Bunker Hill on 17 June 1775, British batteries on this hill shelled Charlestown across the Charles River, and the burning of the town was observed from here. The site gives sweeping views of the Charlestown Navy Yard and USS Constitution. The ground has slate headstones with winged death heads, hourglasses and urns characteristic of New England carving, and Boston's narrowest house, a four-foot wide structure, sits on Hull Street at its edge. The cemetery is maintained by the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department, which conducts stone conservation, though many markers are worn and some are damaged by weather and vandalism. Interpretation is by wayside signs, with occasional walking tours. The site is a Freedom Trail stop. A visit takes about 15 to 30 minutes, and the grounds are open on a daily schedule without an entry fee.