King's Chapel Burying Grounds

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King's Chapel Burying Ground is a historic cemetery on Tremont Street, near its intersection with School Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest cemetery in the city and is a site on the Freedom Trail. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Despite its name, the cemetery pre-dates the adjacent King's Chapel; it is not affiliated to that or any other church.King's Chapel Burying Ground was founded in 1630 as the first cemetery in the city of Boston. According to custom, the first interment was that of the land's original owner, Isaac Johnson. It was Boston's only burial site for 30 years (1630–1660). After being unable to locate land elsewhere, in 1686 the local Anglican congregation was allotted land in the cemetery to build King's Chapel.Today there are 505 headstones and 59 footstones remaining from the more than one thousand people buried in the small space since its inception. There are also 78 tombs, of which 36 have markers. This includes the large vault, built as a charnel house that was converted into a tomb for children's remains in 1833. The earliest tombs are scattered among the grave markers. Most are in tabletop form.