Fair Hil Burial Ground

Fair Hill Burial Ground is a beautiful five acre cemetery that was founded in 1703 by George Fox. This piece of land was given to George Fox and the Quakers as a gift from their founder William Penn. Being that this cemetery as a strong history of Quaker roots, there are mainly only Quakers buried at this location.

The early Quakers buried here were very important people for their time period. Alot of the people buried here were activists, women's right supporters, abolotionists, and people who wanted to make America a better place to live. Some of the more famous people who have been buried at Fair Hill Burial Grounds includes: Lucretia Mott, James Mott, Thomas and Mary Ann McClintokm, Sarah Pugh, Ann Preston, and Edward Parrish.

There are a few exceptions to only Quakers being buried at this cemetery, for example supporters of the Underground Railroad and key leaders in this secret organization have been buried at this location. The most famous supporter of this movement to be buried here is Robert Purvis and his family who was the president of the Underground Railroad.

Now a days at Fair Hill Burial Grounds it is run by the Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting and is continuially being restored to its former beauty. There are various days throughout the year that are set aside by this group to get volunteers to come together and take care of the cemetery and restore its essence.

Citations

Moore, Pamela. "Fair Hill Burial Ground." Philadelphia Meeting Quarterly. 01 Feb 2007. Web. 23 Feb 2010. http://www.pym.org/philadelphia-qm/entities.html

"Fair Hill Burial Ground." NNDB. 2009. NNDB, Web. 23 Feb 2010. http://www.nndb.com/cemetery/641/000208017/

Christ Church Burial Ground

On the corner of 5th and Arch Street, you can find the burial ground of five signers of The Declaration of Independence, including Benjamin Franklin. This burial ground is operated by Christ Church and was established in 1719 after the graveyard next to the church became too full. It is still open to the public today, for a small fee as you can see on this sign.

This sign is located near the front of the burial ground. It asks visitors to please be respectful of the over 4000 people who are buried here. This grave site is nearly 300 years old, which shows how delicate the tombstones really are. Another interesting fact about this burial ground is that a grave digger, John Taylor, who worked here for 50 years, was buried here in 1803.

Benjamin Franklin is the most decorated person buried at Christ Church Burial Ground. He is buried along side his wife and amongst many of his other family members.

Here is Benjamin Franklin’s tomb stone. His descendants requested that an opening be placed in the brick wall surrounding the burial ground so that the public could see Franklin’s gravesite day and night. A metal fence was then installed in front of his grave so this could be possible. Visitors of this site throw pennies on his stone to show their respect and remember his motto of “A penny saved is a penny earned”.

At the end of the metal fence, on the corner of the brick wall next to Franklin's tombstone, this plaque is placed in dedication to Benjamin Franklin. It features quotes from George Washington and other famous people of their time who wanted to pay their respects to one of the most influential men of our nation.

This plaque is also located on the fence by Franklin’s grave. It gives visitors directions to Christ Church, which is the home church to most of the people buried here.

Here is a picture of some of the other grave markers and the brick wall that surrounds the burial ground. As you can see, these markers are very old and weathered. Sarah Knowles' marker is the oldest marker left standing; it was placed into the ground in 1721.

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