"The Historic Burying Grounds Initiative manages sixteen burying grounds located throughout Boston.
Copp's Hill is the final resting place of over 10,000 people. Originally called North Burying Ground, Copp's Hill was the second place of interment on the Boston peninsula and was laid out in 1659. The area acquired its present name through its association with William Copp, a shoemaker and early settler who lived near today's Prince Street."
"Among those interred on the hill are merchant John Pulling Jr. and Old North Church sexton, or caretaker, Robert Newman, the two men believed to have held the signal lanterns on the night of April 18, 1775 to warn of the British advance on Lexington and Concord. Also buried here are Increase, Samuel, and Cotton Mather, all three influential and infamous theologians of Boston.
Copp's Hill also serves as the final resting place for early Bostonians of African descent. Many enslaved and free African Americans are buried on this hill, including Black educator, community leader, and Masonic Grand Master Prince Hall." MORE
"Visitors to Copp’s Hill Burying Ground in the North End will find the resting sites of well-known white families. But the city's second oldest cemetery also is the burial site of more than 1,000 free and enslaved Black people whose identities remain largely unknown." MORE
"The Forgotten Legacy of Boston’s Historic Black Graveyard" - by Dart Adams, Boston Magazine
“It is estimated that more than 1,000 slaves and former residents of the North End’s New Guinea community, which was named for the West African nation where many of them—or their ancestors—had roots, were buried here. The historic significance of this community cannot be overstated: New Guinea is not just believed to be Boston’s very first Black community, but the first community of free Blacks in the colonies.” MORE
View of the attack on Bunker's Hill, with the burning of Charles Town, June 17, 1775 / drawn by Mr. Millar ; engraved by Lodge.
IMAGE Courtesy of the United States Library of Congress
"Copp's Hill also played a pivotal role in the Battle of Bunker Hill due to its view of the harbor and neighboring towns. From this spot on June 17, 1775, Generals John Burgoyne and Henry Clinton directed British soldiers to bombard Breed’s Hill with naval guns. These guns aimed at the fortifications colonists had built the night prior on the hill. Ultimately, the use of artillery from Copp’s Hill helped the British push colonial forces off Breed's Hill. - National Park Service