Christ Church Burial Ground

The Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia is a historic Episcopal cemetery established in 1719 and located at the corner of Fifth and Arch Streets in the Old City neighborhood. It serves as the final resting place for Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, as well as his wife Deborah Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence. Owned and operated by Christ Church, one of the oldest Anglican congregations in colonial America, the burial ground has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is administered in partnership with the National Park Service as part of Philadelphia's broader network of revolutionary-era sites. Its significance extends beyond its role as a burial ground: the site reflects Philadelphia's colonial past, the religious and civic life of the early republic, and the enduring legacy of those who shaped American history.

History

Christ Church Burial Ground was established in 1719 to serve the growing congregation of Christ Church, which had been founded in 1695 and remains the oldest Episcopal parish in Pennsylvania. The burial ground was created to accommodate burials that could no longer be absorbed by the churchyard at Second Street, as Philadelphia's population expanded rapidly in the early eighteenth century. The land at Fifth and Arch Streets was chosen partly for its slight elevation, which provided the natural drainage essential for burial grounds in an era before modern sanitation infrastructure.

Throughout the colonial period, the burial ground served as the primary interment site for members of Philadelphia's Anglican — later Episcopal — community, a congregation that included many of the city's most prominent merchants, lawyers, physicians, and civic leaders. Benjamin Franklin, though not a regular churchgoer, had long-standing ties to Christ Church and had contributed financially to its construction; he was buried there in April 1790 alongside his wife Deborah, who had predeceased him in 1774. Franklin's grave, situated near the Arch Street wall, became one of the most visited monuments in Philadelphia almost immediately after his death.

During the Revolutionary War, the burial ground received the remains of soldiers, physicians, and officials connected with the patriot cause. Four additional signers of the Declaration of Independence — Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Hewes, George Ross, and Benjamin Rush — are interred here, making the site one of the most concentrated collections of founding-era burials in the United States.

During the nineteenth century, the burial ground faced growing pressures from the rapid urbanization of Philadelphia. As the city expanded and densified around the site, proposals occasionally surfaced to repurpose or redevelop the land. Preservation efforts mounted by Christ Church and civic organizations successfully resisted these proposals. The burial ground was eventually recognized at the federal level, receiving National Historic Landmark designation, which formalized its protection and ensured ongoing investment in its conservation. Today the cemetery is maintained through a combination of parish stewardship, National Park Service partnership, and private philanthropic support.

Geography

Christ Church Burial Ground is located in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, at the corner of Fifth and Arch Streets, within walking distance of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, and the National Constitution Center. The site is bounded by Arch Street to the north and is enclosed by a historic brick wall that dates to the eighteenth century. The burial ground spans approximately one acre, making it relatively compact by the standards of historic urban cemeteries, though its density of historically significant graves is exceptional.

The site occupies gently elevated ground, a practical consideration when the cemetery was laid out in 1719. This slight elevation above the surrounding streetscape facilitates natural drainage across the grounds. The layout reflects eighteenth-century burial ground conventions, with graves arranged in rows and oriented according to the religious customs of the Anglican tradition. Mature trees shade portions of the grounds, and gravel paths allow visitors to move among the grave markers without disturbing the turf. The surrounding streetscape has changed considerably since the colonial period, with the cemetery now embedded within a dense urban environment of historic and modern buildings, but the walled enclosure preserves a distinct and quieter interior atmosphere.

Culture

Christ Church Burial Ground holds considerable cultural importance in Philadelphia as a site of remembrance, civic reflection, and historical education. Benjamin Franklin's grave has functioned as an informal public monument since the late eighteenth century, and the tradition of visitors tossing pennies onto the flat gravestone — a practice derived from the popular idiom "a penny saved is a penny earned," attributed to Franklin — continues today and has become one of the most recognized customs at any American historic site. The accumulated pennies are periodically collected and donated to charitable causes, preserving the spirit of Franklin's well-documented commitment to civic philanthropy.

The burial ground also occupies an important place in the cultural life of Philadelphia more broadly. Writers, artists, and historians have drawn on its atmosphere and its associations with the founding era, and it is regularly featured in curricula developed by local schools and universities. Its proximity to Independence National Historical Park means that many visitors encounter it as part of a broader engagement with the sites of American independence. Ceremonies and commemorative events held at the burial ground each year — including observances on Franklin's birthday, January 17 — attract historians, public officials, and members of the public, reinforcing its role as a living civic institution rather than simply a preserved relic.

Notable Burials

The burial ground's most internationally recognized occupant is Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), printer, scientist, diplomat, and one of the principal architects of American independence. Franklin is buried alongside his wife Deborah Read Franklin (1708–1774) beneath a flat, unadorned slab near the Arch Street wall. The simplicity of the grave marker — Franklin himself reportedly requested a plain stone — stands in deliberate contrast to the elaborate monuments favored by some of his contemporaries, and has been interpreted as a reflection of his Quaker-influenced sensibilities regarding humility in death.

Four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are also interred at Christ Church Burial Ground. Francis Hopkinson (1737–1791), a lawyer, judge, and artist who designed the first American flag, is buried here, as is Joseph Hewes (1730–1779), a North Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress. George Ross (1730–1779), a Pennsylvania delegate and jurist, and Benjamin Rush (1746–1813), physician, educator, and reformer widely regarded as one of the most distinguished medical minds of the early republic, complete the group. Rush's burial at this site is particularly notable given his foundational contributions to American medicine, including early advocacy for the humane treatment of mental illness and his work during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793.

Beyond these nationally prominent figures, the burial ground contains the graves of numerous physicians, merchants, civic officials, and clergy who shaped the development of Philadelphia from its colonial origins through the early national period. Collectively, the burials represent a cross-section of the city's English-descended Protestant establishment during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, though the site's historical record also documents the presence of individuals from a range of social and economic backgrounds within the congregation.

It is worth noting several figures sometimes incorrectly associated with this site. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, is buried at Jordans Burial Ground in Jordans, Buckinghamshire, England, where he died in 1718. Betsy Ross is interred at the grounds of the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia, having been reinterred there in 1976 after originally being buried at Free Quaker Meeting House grounds. Neither Penn nor Ross has any burial connection to Christ Church Burial Ground.

Economy

Christ Church Burial Ground contributes meaningfully to Philadelphia's heritage tourism economy. As a National Historic Landmark located within the Independence National Historical Park corridor, it attracts visitors from across the United States and internationally, many of whom visit as part of a broader itinerary that includes Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and related sites. Local businesses in the Old City neighborhood — including restaurants, shops, and guided tour operators — benefit from this concentrated tourist traffic. The burial ground charges a modest admission fee for entry to the walled grounds, with revenue directed toward ongoing conservation and maintenance.

Preservation and maintenance of the site represent ongoing economic commitments. Christ Church, in partnership with the National Park Service and private philanthropic donors, invests regularly in the conservation of grave markers, the repair of the historic boundary wall, and the maintenance of pathways and landscaping. These efforts support skilled conservation contractors and contribute to the preservation economy that has grown around Philadelphia's unusually dense concentration of eighteenth-century built heritage.

Attractions

The burial ground draws visitors principally through its association with Benjamin Franklin, whose grave remains the single most sought-after site within the enclosure. The penny-tossing tradition at Franklin's grave is one of the most distinctive visitor customs at any American historic site, and it functions as both a spontaneous tribute and a point of cultural engagement that connects visitors to Franklin's enduring popular reputation. Guided tours led by historians and educators affiliated with Christ Church provide context for the burial ground as a whole, covering the lives of the signers interred there, the history of the congregation, and the burial practices of the colonial and revolutionary periods.

The site also hosts periodic public programs, including lectures, walking tours of the broader Old City historic district, and commemorative ceremonies. Educational programs tailored to school groups connect the burial ground to Pennsylvania and national history standards, making it a regular destination for class trips from throughout the region. Because the burial ground is enclosed by its eighteenth-century brick wall, visitors experience a degree of separation from the surrounding urban environment that enhances the reflective atmosphere of the site.

Getting There

Christ Church Burial Ground is accessible by several modes of public transportation. The SEPTA Market-Frankford Line stops at 5th Street Station, which is within a short walk of the Arch Street entrance. Numerous SEPTA bus routes serve the surrounding Old City and Center City areas. The site is also easily reached on foot from major transit hubs at Market East/Jefferson Station and from the 30th Street Station via connection. Visitors arriving by car will find metered street parking on surrounding blocks and several parking garages in the Old City neighborhood, though availability can be limited during peak tourist season.

The burial ground is open to the public on a seasonal schedule, generally from spring through fall, with reduced hours in winter months. Current hours, admission fees, and information about guided tours and special events are available through the Historic Christ Church website at christchurchphila.org. The site is operated in coordination with Independence National Historical Park, and visitors are encouraged to combine a visit with nearby landmarks including Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, and the historic Christ Church building on Second Street, all of which are within comfortable walking distance.

Neighborhoods

Christ Church Burial Ground sits within the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, one of the city's oldest and most historically dense districts. Old City encompasses the majority of colonial-era Philadelphia, including Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Center, Elfreth's Alley, and the historic Christ Church building, as well as a substantial concentration of galleries, restaurants, and residential conversions in former industrial and commercial buildings. The neighborhood has experienced sustained reinvestment since the 1970s and is now one of the more affluent and culturally active districts in the city, though it retains significant stretches of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century fabric.

The burial ground's immediate surroundings reflect this layering of historical and contemporary uses. The brick wall enclosing the cemetery abuts a streetscape that includes both landmark historic structures and modern infill. Society Hill lies to the south, and the broader Center City grid extends westward. The concentration of National Park Service sites within a few blocks of the burial ground has given Old City a particular character as a heritage district, drawing both domestic and international visitors and supporting a local economy oriented significantly around tourism and the hospitality industry.

Education

Christ Church Burial Ground functions as a significant educational resource for Philadelphia-area schools and for institutions engaged in the teaching of American colonial and revolutionary history. The site's curatorial and interpretive staff work with teachers to develop programming aligned with Pennsylvania academic standards, and the burial ground regularly hosts school groups from the region for guided visits that integrate the physical site with broader instruction on the founding period, the role of religion in colonial life, and the biographies of the figures interred there.

Partnerships between Christ Church and local colleges and universities have supported original historical research on the burial ground's records, grave markers, and congregation. These collaborations have produced documented findings on burial practices, demographic patterns among Christ Church's colonial membership, and the condition and conservation needs of specific grave markers. The burial ground's archival records, which include burial registers dating to the early eighteenth century, are a primary source for researchers studying colonial Philadelphia, and they complement the collections held by institutions such as the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Library of Congress.

Demographics

The burial ground's population of interments reflects the demographic character of Christ Church's congregation across three centuries of use. During the colonial and early national periods, the majority of those buried here were English-descended Protestants of the Anglican tradition, representing Philadelphia's mercantile and professional classes. The burial registers document individuals from a wide range of occupational backgrounds within this community, including artisans, shopkeepers, and domestic workers alongside the wealthier merchants and lawyers who are more prominently memorialized.

As Philadelphia grew and diversified through the nineteenth century, the patterns of interment at Christ Church Burial Ground shifted alongside changes in the city's religious geography. The congregation itself evolved, and the burial ground gradually reached practical capacity, with new interments becoming less common as the site filled. The grave markers present today thus represent a predominantly eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century cross-section of one significant strand of Philadelphia's population, rather than the full diversity of the city across its history. Visitors seeking to understand the broader demographic history of Philadelphia — including the histories of its Quaker, Catholic, Jewish, and African American communities — are directed to the city's other historic cemeteries and burial sites, which together provide a more complete picture of the city's past.