Perched high above Marblehead Harbor, Old Burial Hill has long drawn visitors for its sweeping ocean views and haunting slate stones. Now, the centuries-old cemetery has earned national recognition.
A new survey of more than 3,000 Americans by Choice Mutual lists Old Burial Hill among the nation’s most beautiful “hidden gem” cemeteries, alongside Sleepy Hollow in Concord and Forest Hills in Boston.
Founded in 1638 on the site of the town’s first meetinghouse, Old Burial Hill is one of New England’s oldest graveyards.
Approximately 1,000 markers remain, including around 60 dedicated to Revolutionary War veterans. Many of its stones lean under centuries of weather, their carved symbols of angels, bats, and hourglasses still striking against the wind-swept hilltop.
A recent tour led by Dave Rodgers, chair of Marblehead’s Cemetery Commission, revealed some of the history embedded in the grounds. Rodgers described how generations of local families –– from fishermen to shoemakers –– rest here.
He pointed out the memorial to Gen. John Glover, whose regiment ferried George Washington and his army across the Delaware River in December 1776 for a pivotal battle in the American Revolution. He also noted the grave of Agnes: an enslaved single woman who died in 1718 at age 43. She was honored with burial in her owner’s family plot.
“Sometimes when you grow up somewhere, you take things for granted,” Rodgers said during the walk. “You don’t realize until you get older what the meaning of all this is.”
Visitors often seek out the elaborate 1776 headstone of Susanna Jayne, which was carved by Boston artisan Henry Christian Geyer.
Its imagery is unforgettable: a laurel-crowned skeleton holding the sun and moon, a serpent biting its tail to symbolize eternity, and cherubs balanced by bats. Time and vandals have worn the stone, but its message about the brevity of life endures.
Old Burial Hill also tells quieter stories. A memorial commemorates Wilmott Redd, the only Marblehead woman executed for witchcraft in 1692. Also buried here is Mary Gale, the wife of Ambrose Gale and the mother of Charity (Gale) Pitman, both of whom testified against Wilmott Redd.
Nearby lies Joseph “Black Joe” Brown, a formerly enslaved Revolutionary soldier and respected local tavern owner. Coins left atop his stone show that visitors still pay their respects afterward.
The cemetery remains an active site, though only a few family lots—such as the Peach and Noyes plots—are open for future burials. Rodgers recalled the 2015 interment of a local veteran whose ashes were returned from Texas. “It was a special feeling being here,” he said.
For all its history, Old Burial Hill is also a place of simple beauty.
Towering trees cast shifting light over mossy stones, and trails lead to quiet views of Marblehead Harbor and Salem Sound. Every October, sightseers and photographers climb the hill for a brush with the past, and some locals skate the nearby pond when it freezes.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Rodgers said with a smile when told of the national honor. Yet the combination of history, artistry, and coastal scenery makes Old Burial Hill a fitting addition to America’s most beautiful hidden cemeteries. In this place, Marblehead’s story, and the nation’s, is carved in stone.
Chair of the Historical Commission, Pam Peterson, also published a book titled, “A Guide to Historic Burial Grounds of Marblehead,” this past May.
The book covers the history of Old Burial Hill cemetery and many others extensively. You can purchase it on Amazon and locally.
