Dorchester North Burying Ground

What can a burying ground tell us about a neighborhood? Quite a lot. Join us to explore 400 years of Boston history on a walking tour of the Dorchester North Burying Ground, one of the city's oldest and most significant historic cemeteries. Founded in 1633, this remarkable burial ground offers a window into colonial Boston, the American Revolution, and the generations of people who shaped Dorchester and the city beyond.

Explore the stories of Puritan ministers, Revolutionary War soldiers, skilled stone carvers, merchants, immigrants, and ordinary residents whose lives are recorded in stone. Along the way, discover exceptional gravestone art, learn about the Salem witch trials, slavery in New England, epidemics, and the everyday experiences of the people who lived and died here over three centuries.

As you walk among some of Boston's oldest gravestones and tombs, you'll trace the transformation of Dorchester from a rural Puritan settlement to one of Boston's most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods. Through both famous figures and often-overlooked individuals, this tour reveals how a single historic burying ground can tell the story of an entire community.

This tour is offered in collaboration with the City of Boston's Historic Burying Grounds Initiative.