Burial Grounds
Come visit America’s most historic burial grounds, where Benjamin Franklin and other prominent leaders are laid to rest.
About the Burial Grounds
Christ Church Burial Ground is one of America’s most unique Colonial and Revolution-era graveyards, with 1,400 markers on two beautiful acres right in the heart of historic Philadelphia.
The Burial Ground is the final resting place of some of our most prominent leaders, including Benjamin Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence. Maps of the Christ Church Burial Ground highlight many of the notable people buried here.
Burial Ground GPS Address
N 5th and Arch Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(Arch Street between 4th and 5th Streets)
Burial Ground Hours & Admissions
Every day 11 AM – 5 PM
December: 11 AM – 4 PM (Weather permitting. Please note that hours may vary due to inclement weather conditions.)
The Burial Ground is closed during the months of January and February, as well as on Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
For January or February tour requests, please contact Matthew Havens, Director of Education and Preservation.
$10 Adult guided tour
$5 Youth (5-12 years) guided tour
$5 Adult self-guided tour
$2 Youth (5-12 years) self-guided tour
$1 Map
COMBO (Church & Burial Ground)
$8 Adult self-guided tour
$3 Youth (5-12 years) self-guided tour
* Additional packages (including dual admission) available on-site * We offer special rates for groups
History
Before the establishment of the 5th Street Burial Ground in 1719, Christ Church buried the earliest members of the congregation in the churchyard, a common Christian and European practice. When burials began to take place on the outskirts of cities (largely to prevent disease), and the churchyard became filled, Christ Church purchased two acres of land on the outskirts of town at the corner of 5th and Arch Streets.
The Burial Ground became the final resting place for over 4,000 members of Christ Church, including five signers of the Declaration of Independence: Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Hewes, Francis Hopkinson, George Ross, and Dr. Benjamin Rush. Also buried on these sacred grounds are many of our nation’s early leaders, prominent lawyers, medical pioneers, military heroes and victims of the Yellow Fever epidemic.
Image: Franklin aficionados sometimes toss pennies on his tombstone — a practice that has contributed to the deterioration of the marker.
Our visitors have been raving!
The reviews are in: 4.6 stars on Google Maps
This was such a beautiful spot to check out in the city. Just a few blocks down from the famous Alley, there was a small entrance fee. I would definitely recommend anyone coming near the area to check this historical church.
It was an amazing experience to be sitting in this churches pew boxes, to think of the people who assembled and worshiped here looking for their inner peace and guidance in their lives, as they evolved to become some of the cornerstones of the USA. Lots of history here, be sure to enjoy if you come to Philadelphia for a visit.
So much history, defiance, resolution and spirit in this church that breaks away from its roots to be something else! It's a quaint little church with an extreme amount of history and defiance inside. Pay the $5 to go into it! It helps with the upkeep and is an awesome part of history!!
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here! We purchased a map along with our admission and found the pews of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, among others. Peaceful respit to a busy day of sightseeing. Make sure to walk around the gardens out back. Absolutely beautiful piece of history!
Beautiful church. There is so much history within the walls and grounds. Take time to speak with the historian that is often in the main sanctuary.
Benjamin Franklin
When Benjamin Franklin died in 1790, he was buried along with his wife Deborah and their two children, Francis and Sarah, in a family plot in the northwest corner of the grounds. For years, popular belief held that in 1858, Franklin’s descendants requested that an opening be placed in the brick wall surrounding the cemetery so the public could see Franklin’s grave day or night. The installation of a metal fence made it much easier for Franklin’s many admirers to toss a penny onto his family plot in honor of his famous words, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
In a 2017 article, Mark E. Dixon attributes the metal fence to Philadelphia’s leaders, not the Franklin family. Dixon’s narrative traces the project, “a 19th century public relations campaign” to the publishing community and preservationists who, among others, sought to ground Franklin’s legacy in Philadelphia.
In December 2005, to honor Franklin’s 300th birthday, Christ Church Preservation Trust constructed a new brick path around the Franklin family grave site. It also added a marble surround that contains the original inscriptions for John Read (Franklin’s father in-law), Francis Franklin and Emma Mary Bache.
Singer Jon Bon Jovi met with members of the Christ Church staff and our Preservation Trust for the Franklin grave dedication.
Since Franklin’s death in 1790, a simple marble ledger tablet has distinguished his resting place. In 2016, Christ Church Preservation Trust hired architectural conservators to repair a significant crack that threatened the integrity of Franklin’s grave marker. The team also restored other areas of deterioration at the Franklin family plot, including the Franklin tablet’s marble face: for years, the practice of throwing pennies at Franklin’s grave — an homage to the adage “a penny saved is a penny earned” — pitted the marble surface.
The Trust raised $76,000 for the work, an amount that included funds from the University of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Florence Gould Foundation, and a successful crowdsourcing campaign largely funded by rocker Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea.
At a public ceremony in April 2017, the Trust unveiled the restored family plot.
Burial Ground Maintenance and Preservation
The Burial Ground was closed to the public from 1977 through 2003. In 2002, Christ Church Preservation Trust undertook a major program of renovation to reopen the site to the public. Projects included restoring 150 grave markers (many by pinning and mortaring broken pieces) and rebuilding parts of the exterior brick wall (first constructed in 1772). Landscapers tended the overgrown grounds, removing ivy, pruning trees, creating new paths and installing turf
The Trust also expanded its tourism program from Christ Church to the Christ Church Burial Ground, writing and implementing an interpretative program. Admission costs offset tour guide pay and contribute to ongoing preservation, an expensive task as realized by our recent Benjamin Franklin grave marker restoration project.
Help continue our Burial Ground preservation work
If you would like to contribute to Burial Ground preservation work, perhaps by contributing to the care of a specific grave marker, please contact Executive Director Zack Biro or make a donation.