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Boston, Massachusetts Granary Burying Ground 
The Granary Burying Ground in Boston was established in 1660 and was the third cemetery in the city of Boston. It ceased to be used for burials in 1880. Known originally as the South Burying Ground, in 1737 it took on the name of the granary building which stood on the site of the present-day Park Street Church, which was constructed there in 1809. In 1830, trees were planted in the area and an attempt was made to change the name to "Franklin Cemetery" to honour the family of Benjamin Franklin, who was a key figure in the American Revolution and grew up in Boston, but the effort failed. Situated by the gate is the Franklin Monument, which is dedicated to Josiah and Abiah Franklin, the parents of Benjamin Franklin. The large obelisk made of Quincy granite, was erected in 1827 to replace the original, more modest gravestones set up by Benjamin Franklin, but by the 1820s, the inscriptions had worn away, prompting the city to replace them with the current obelisk.  The Granary Burying Ground is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era figures, including three of those that signed the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock, who was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, Robert Treat Paine. a lawyer who gained recognition for his role as a prosecuting attorney in the trial of British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre, and Samuel Adams, a vocal critic of British policies and played a significant role in organizing resistance against British rule. He was a leader of the Sons of Liberty, a group that opposed British taxation and policies and was instrumental in planning the Boston Tea Party in 1773, a pivotal event that protested the Tea Act and British taxation.  The Burying Ground also holds the grave of Paul Revere, famous for his "Midnight Ride" on April 18, 1775, where he rode from Boston to Lexington to warn the colonial militia of the approaching British forces.  Another prominent figure in the American Revolution was James Otis.  Otis is often credited with coining the phrase "taxation without representation is tyranny," which became a rallying cry for the American colonists It also holds the victims of the Boston Massacre which occurred on March 5, 1770, when five colonists were killed by British troops, something that played a significant role in uniting the colonies against British rule and paving the way for the American Revolution.  One of the notable mass burial sites is the Infant's Tomb, which is thought to include over 500 children. At that time infant mortality rates were high, and mass burials were not uncommon. The cemetery's Egyptian revival gate was designed by architect Isaiah Rogers, as was the iron fence which was installed in 1840.  The cemetery has 2,345 grave markers, but historians estimate that as many as 5,000 people are buried there. Originally the gravestones were placed in a haphazard configuration, but these were rearranged into straighter rows over the years to accommodate both nineteenth-century aesthetics and the modern lawnmower.  During the mid-nineteenth century, many landscaping projects were undertaken in the cemetery, including the installation of pedestrian walkways and the planting of trees and shrubbery to provide shade.
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All Photographs were taken by and are copyright of Ron Gatepain
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