View source for Christ Church Burial Ground

{{Short description|Historic site in Philadelphia}}
{{for|the cemetery in Quincy, Massachusetts|Christ Church Burial Ground (Quincy, Massachusetts)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = Christ Church Burial Ground
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = Grabstätte Franklin.jpg
| caption      = [[Benjamin Franklin]]'s gravesite in Christ Church Burial Ground in [[Philadelphia]]
| location     = 5th and [[Arch Street (Philadelphia)|Arch]] streets,<br />[[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| coordinates  = {{coord|39|57|07|N|75|08|55|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = Philadelphia#Pennsylvania#USA
| area         =
| architect    =
| architecture =
| added        = June 24, 1971
| refnum       = 71000062<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
}}
'''Christ Church Burial Ground''' in [[Philadelphia]] is an important early-American cemetery. It is the final resting place of [[Benjamin Franklin]] and his wife, [[Deborah Read|Deborah]]. Four other signers of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] are buried here, [[Benjamin Rush]], [[Francis Hopkinson]], [[Joseph Hewes]], and [[George Ross (delegate)|George Ross]]. Two additional signers of the Declaration of Independence, [[James Wilson (Founding Father)|James Wilson]] and [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]], are buried at [[Christ Church, Philadelphia|Christ Church]] just a few blocks away.

==History==
The cemetery belongs to [[Christ Church, Philadelphia|Christ Church]], the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]] church, which was founded in 1695 and served as a place of worship for many of the most notable participants in the [[American Revolution]], including [[George Washington]]. The burial ground is located at 5th and [[Arch Street (Philadelphia)|Arch]] streets, across from the Visitors Center and [[National Constitution Center]] in [[Center City, Philadelphia|Center City Philadelphia]]. The Burial Ground was opened in 1719, and is still an active cemetery. The Burial Ground is open to the public for a small fee, weather permitting; about 100,000 tourists visit each year.

===Benjamin Franklin gravesite===
When the burial ground is closed, [[Benjamin Franklin]]'s gravesite is visible from the sidewalk at the corner of 5th and [[Arch Street (Philadelphia)|Arch Street]]s through a set of iron rails. The bronze rails in the brick wall were added for public viewing in 1858 by parties working at the behest of the [[Franklin Institute]], which assumed the responsibility of defending Franklin's historic ties to [[Philadelphia]] after prominent citizens from [[Boston]] criticized the city's maintenance of the grave and erected a Franklin statue there.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://hiddencityphila.org/2017/04/behind-the-publicity-stunt-at-benjamin-franklins-grave/| title=How Franklin's Grave Became a Monument and Philadelphians Were Persuaded to Like It| first=Mark| last=Dixon| date=April 19, 2017| website=Hidden City Philadelphia| access-date=January 19, 2022}}</ref> Leaving [[Penny (United States coin)|pennies]] on Franklin's grave is a long-standing Philadelphia tradition.

==Burials==
Other famous people buried at Christ Church Burial Ground include:
*[[John Andrews (priest)|John Andrews]], (1746-1813), fourth Provost of the [[University of Pennsylvania]]
*[[Michael Woolston Ash]] (1789–1858), U.S. Congressman<ref name=CCP>{{cite web |url=http://www.christchurchphila.org/Historic_Christ_Church/Burial_Ground/The_Graves/98/ |title=The Graves |website=Christ Church in Philadelphia |access-date=2010-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811190605/http://www.christchurchphila.org/Historic_Christ_Church/Burial_Ground/The_Graves/98/ |archive-date=2011-08-11 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Samuel John Atlee]] (1739–1786), delegate to the [[Continental Congress]]<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Benjamin Franklin Bache (journalist)|Benjamin Franklin Bache]] (1769–1798), grandson of [[Benjamin Franklin]], printer and publisher of the ''Aurora'' newspaper<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Sarah Franklin Bache]] (1743–1808), daughter of [[Benjamin Franklin]]<ref name=CCP/>
*[[William Bainbridge]] (1774–1833), [[United States Navy|Navy]] hero of [[War of 1812]] and captain of the [[USS Constitution|USS ''Constitution'']]"<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Francis Biddle]] (1886–1968), former [[United States Attorney General|U.S. attorney general]]
*[[James Biddle]] (1783–1848), Commodore in [[United States Navy]]
*[[Thomas Bond (American physician)|Thomas Bond]] (1713–1784), co-founder (with [[Benjamin Franklin]]) of [[Pennsylvania Hospital]], the nation's first hospital<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Paul Busti]] (1749-1824), ''Agent General'' of the Holland Land Company 
*Major General [[George Cadwalader]] (1806–1879), [[American Civil War]] general<ref name=CCP/>
*[[John Cadwalader (jurist)|John Cadwalader]] (1805–1879), congressman and judge<ref>{{CongBio |C000011 |John Cadwalader |inline=please}}</ref>
*[[Matthew Clarkson (mayor)|Matthew Clarkson]] (1733–1800), [[List of mayors of Philadelphia|mayor of Philadelphia]]
*[[Joseph Clay]] (1769–1811), U.S. Congressman
*[[Tench Coxe]] (1755–1824), [[Continental Congress]] delegate
*[[William Henry Drayton]] (1742-1799), [[Continental Congress]] delegated and signer of the [[Articles of Confederation]]
*[[John Dunlap]] (1747–1812), printer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Lewis Evans (surveyor)|Lewis Evans]] (c.1700–1756), cartographer and surveyor
*[[Tench Francis, Jr.]] (1730-1800)
*[[David Franks (aide-de-camp)|David Franks]] (1740–1793), aide-de-camp to General [[Benedict Arnold]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]]<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Samuel Hardy]] (1758–1785), delegate to the [[Continental Congress]]
*[[Michael Hillegas]] (1729–1804), first [[Treasurer of the United States]]<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Thomas Hopkinson]] (1709–1751), father of [[Francis Hopkinson]], president of the Philosophical Society, and one of the founders of [[The Library Company of Philadelphia]]<ref name=CCP/>
*[[John Inskeep]] (1757–1834), mayor of Philadelphia
*Major [[William Jackson (secretary)|William Jackson]] (1759–1828), Revolutionary War officer and secretary of the [[Philadelphia Convention|Constitutional Convention]]<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Thomas Lawrence (mayor)|Thomas Lawrence]], five-time mayor of Philadelphia
*Major General [[Charles Lee (general)|Charles Lee]] (1732-1782), controversial Revolutionary War officer and second-highest ranking general after [[George Washington]] from 1776 to 1778.
*[[Charles Mason]] (1728–1786), astronomer and surveyor who laid out the [[Mason–Dixon line]] in 1763<ref name=CCP/>
*[[George A. McCall]] (1802–1868), [[United States Army]] brigadier general and prisoner of war during the [[American Civil War]]
*[[William M. Meredith]] (1799–1873), [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]]<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Philip Syng Physick]] (1768–1837), known as the "father of modern surgery"<ref name=CCP/>
*[[John Hare Powel]] (1786-1856), Pennsylvania State Senator and agriculturalist
*[[Samuel Powel]] and his wife [[Elizabeth Willing Powel]] 
*[[Henry C. Pratt (merchant)|Henry C. Pratt]] (1761–1838) prominent Philadelphia businessman and builder of [[Lemon Hill]]
*[[Matthew Pratt]] (1734–1805) American colonial era portrait painter
*Col. Isaac Read (1739-1777) Virginia revolutionary and commander of the 1st Virginia Regiment, who died of disease during the Revolutionary War
*[[Benjamin Rush]] (1746–1813), signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and founder of [[Dickinson College]], known as "the father of American psychiatry"<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Annis Boudinot Stockton]] (1736–1801), poet
*[[Philip Syng]] (1703–1789), silversmith who created the [[Syng inkstand]] and early co-founder with [[Benjamin Franklin]] of several organizations<ref name=CCP/>
*[[Henry Tazewell]] (1753–1799), U.S. Senator
*Commodore [[Thomas Truxtun]], commander of the [[USS Constellation (1797)|USS ''Constellation'']]
*[[William Tuckey]] (1708–1781), composer
*[[John Goddard Watmough]] (1793-1861), U.S. Congressman
*[[Charles Willing]], (1710–1754), three-term mayor of Philadelphia
*Anne Willing Francis (1733-1812) wife of Tench Francis and daughter of [[Charles Willing]] 
*

<gallery>
File:Ben Rush Christ CH Burial G Philly.JPG|[[Benjamin Rush]]'s grave
File:J Taylor Christ Church Burial Ground.JPG|The grave of John Taylor (right), a long-time grave digger at the cemetery.
File:Edwin DeHaven headstone.jpg|[[Edwin De Haven]]'s headstone
File:Bainbridge tombstone.jpg|Commodore [[William Bainbridge]]'s tombstone
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Philadelphia}}{{Commons category}}
* {{official website|https://www.christchurchphila.org/about-the-burial-grounds/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928200218/http://www.christchurchphila.org/SiteData/docs/ccbg-map/2bb71d24513b57e1e0cddea2468bd666/ccbg-map.pdf Official Map of Christ Church Burial Ground] (archived 28 September 2007)
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=44588&CScn=Christ+Church&CScntry=4&CSst=40& Christ Church Burial Ground] at [[Find a Grave]]

{{Benjamin Franklin}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:1719 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Anglican cemeteries in the United States]]
[[Category:Arch Street]]
[[Category:Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:History of Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Old City, Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1719]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Cemeteries established in the 1710s]]