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This project is for those buried in the Old Hill Burying Ground, located on Monument Square and Lexington Road, Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
After Concord was incorporated as a town in the fall of 1635, one of the first official acts of its original settlers, along with building a meetinghouse, was the establishment of two small burying grounds. This one, which came to be known as the "Hill Burying Ground" or "Hill Burying Place", was laid out near the northwest end of the long gravel ridge that sheltered the rude houses of the first settlers when they first came to Concord. At its east end, the first small meetinghouse was built, probably near the top of the hill. The other burying ground, the South Burying Place, was an even smaller plot of 1/2 acre on the south side of the Mill Brook.
For many years, all burials are said to have been done here on the hill. According to one tradition, the very first area used was actually to the east of the present bounds, although no trace of it has been found. In any case, the earliest graves were either unmarked, or had wooden or simple stone markers that have since disappeared. The earliest marked grave here is that of Joseph Meriam, who died in 1677 at age 47
The cemetery sits on 1.16 acres. There are approximately 500 headstones with the earliest (marked) death date of 1677, the latest is 1854.
The Massachusetts Historical Commission refers to this cemetery in MACRIS as CON.804 Old Hill Burying Ground.
This cemetery is referred to as GR1 in the "Vital Records of Concord Massachusetts to the end of the year 1850."
Note: The entrance for this cemetery is from Monument Square through the gate between Holy Family Parish and the "brick-end" house.