Christ Church Burial Ground - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 57.149 W 075° 08.897
18S E 487333 N 4422493
This gigantic, two-sided interpretive can be found just outside the historic, brick walls of Christ Cemetery Church in Old City Philadelphia. The marker explores the creation and history of this very patriotic cemetery. Why patriotic? read on.....
Waymark Code: WMCXHK
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2011
Views: 12
The cemetery was created in 1719 and people are stil being interred today. Important patriots of our country who led the struggle and fight for independence form England found their final resting place here. It is the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin and his wife, Deborah. Four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Hewes and George Ross.
I paid the $2 to tour the entire burial ground which took about 40 minutes. If you just want to see Franklin' Grave, the brick wall which once blocked it was removed and replaced in 1858 with an iron rail fence at the request of his descendants. This way, everybody can see his grave when they pass by on Arch Street.
Being the cradle of liberty (and democracy and religion, it makes sense the some of the oldest churches, synagogues, meeting houses and cemeteries in the country can be found right here, densely packed in a few, square block radius. To call attention to this attraction, the City of Philadelphia (or possible a coalition of churches) have established and erected a series of interpretive at this cemetery and every other historic church or cemetery in Old City Philadelphia to call attention to the historical nature of each site. The reverse side of every interpretive bears the same display called Old Philadelphia Congregations which teaches about religious freedom, toleration and diversity in the United States and right here in Philadelphia.
These fantastic and very tall markers are outside of at least six other historic, religious sites in the immediate area (that I was able to find). On one side of these two-sided beauties is this waymark and on the other, the aforementioned general interpretive. The interpretives are easy to read, quite informative and succinct and well maintained. They are about 4 feet in heigh and a few feet in with and are held off the ground about 3 feet so the resting height of the sign is about six feet putting it exactly at eye level. These markers are held in place by two, thin, black metal holders anchored into the concrete pad below.
The sign features two oval framed pictures of Francis Hopkinson and Dr. Benjamin Rush, off to the left of the sign. The bottom of the marker has a rectangular-framed picture of Benjamin Franklin reading a document (maybe the Declaration?). To the bottom right is a modern day photo of the inside of the cemetery. The bottom has the name of the folk responsible for the placement of the interpretive, Old Philadelphia Congregations. The SOH reads:
Christ Church Burial Ground is most famous as the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin, a man who captured the spirit of his age and of the city. Franklin's genius touched nearly every aspect of Philadelphia's life and produced many achievements. Franklin had an international reputation as a scientist because of his pioneering study of electricity.
He used his fame abroad and his diplomatic skills to negotiate the Alliance with France in 1778 and the Peace with Britain in 1783, achievements as important to the cause of American independence as any battle.
Christ Church Burial Ground contains the graves of some of America's greatest patriots, including five signers of the Declaration of Independence: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791), Dr. Benjamin Rush (1746-1813), George Ross (1730-1779) and Joseph Hewes (1730-1779). The burial ground has been in use continuously since 1719, when the Vestry of Christ Church purchased this site because there was no room in the churchyard for interments and the land near the church was too marshy.
Other notables interred in Christ Church Burial Ground: Commodore William Bainbridge (1774-1833), the hero of the War of 1812; Thomas Willing (1731-1821), president of the First Bank of the United States; John Dunlap (d. 1812), printer of the first broadside of the Declaration of Independence; Captain William Budden (d. 1766), who brought the Liberty Bell and Christ Church bells to America; Philip Syng (1703-1789), silversmith who fashioned the inkstand used by the signers of the Declaration of Independence; and Michael Hillegas (1729-1804), the first Treasurer of the United States.