Archaeology and History

Graves at this burial ground were identified by disturbances in the natural layering of soil, with pits showing irregular texture and color, rusted nails outlining disintegrated wooden boards, and in many cases burials stacked three or four coffins deep. Although no coffins survived and preservation left only traces of bone and arcs of human teeth, some remains were radiocarbon dated to the period, confirming the burials. Excavation revealed twenty-nine graves, while dozens of similar grave features comparable to the five examined remain undiscovered. In 1991, when Woods Services, Inc. proposed development on property facing Flowers Avenue, residents and organizations presented the Richardson Diary as evidence that the site was an unmarked soldier’s burial ground from late 1776. Because of the diary and because the referenced house still exists, Woods Services, Inc. allowed an archaeological excavation that proved the burial ground’s existence as it had been recorded in 1869. Woods Services, Inc. later deeded the burial site to Langhorne Borough, and it was dedicated on Veterans Day, November 11, 1999. Excerpts from the diary of Joshua Richardson, written in 1869, recount an old man from Boston coming from the hospital opposite to see his son, who lay near death with fever, and grieving that this was the ninth son he had lost since the commencement of the war. The site has been recorded as one of the largest Revolutionary War burial sites in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Langhorne, Pennsylvania · United States