The Old Burying Ground, also known as the Myles Standish Burying Ground, is the oldest maintained cemetery in the United States. First burials took place here as early as 1632, soon after permanent European settlement began in the area, and the ground remained in use for more than 150 years. It is the resting place of prominent Pilgrim forefathers and mothers, including John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden and Capt. Myles Standish, along with descendants of the Pilgrim settlers and other newcomers to Duxbury. Located in the center of the early settlement that became Duxbury, the site stood within an area where Plymouth Colony members were granted farms beginning in 1627. In 1637, local families formed their own religious congregation under Elder William Brewster and, after receiving permission to separate from Plymouth Colony, established the town of Duxbury. The plot also held Duxbury's first meeting house, built in 1637, where religious worship and civil business both took place, including town meetings, public notices, marriage intentions, and lengthy mandatory Sunday services, with stocks outside for public punishment. By 1706/07, that first meeting house had become outdated and likely too small, so a second, larger one was built nearby and remained in use until 1785. As Duxbury's population grew and spread out, a third meeting house was built a mile away on Tremont Street, and the adjacent Mayflower Cemetery became the town's new burial place, ending burials in the Old Burying Ground. The site later fell into neglect and became overgrown, but in the late 19th century a revival of interest in America's colonial past led the Duxbury Rural Society to clear brush, repair gravestones, and build a fence. It has been maintained as a historic site ever since, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2015, and is now owned and managed by the Town of Duxbury. The 128 gravestones visible today represent only a small share of the people buried there, with as many as 1000 colonial-era burials estimated; many early markers were wooden, fieldstone, or weathered slate and have disappeared, and ground-penetrating radar has confirmed many more graves than surviving headstones.

Photo: Brian Connors

Photo: Anonymous

South Duxbury, Massachusetts · USA