Myles Standish Burial Ground

Myles Standish Burial Ground
Standish gravesite at Myles Standish Burial Ground
Map
Details
Establishedc. 1638
Location
CountryUnited States
Coordinates42°1′30.48″N 70°41′14.79″W / 42.0251333°N 70.6874417°W / 42.0251333; -70.6874417
Size1.5-acre (0.61 ha)
No. of gravesApprox. 130
WebsiteStandish Burial Ground
Find a GraveMyles Standish Burial Ground

The Myles Standish Burial Ground (also known as Old Burying Ground or Standish Cemetery) in Duxbury, Massachusetts is, according to the American Cemetery Association, the oldest maintained cemetery in the United States.

The 1.5-acre (0.61 ha) burying ground is the final resting place of several well-known Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620, including Captain Myles Standish. The site was the location of Duxbury's first meeting house.[1] It was in use from approximately 1638 until 1789 at which point the cemetery was abandoned. It was reclaimed in 1887 by the Duxbury Rural Society, generating a widespread interest in locating the resting place of Duxbury's most famous colonist, Myles Standish. After two exhumations in 1889 and 1891, it was generally agreed that Standish's remains had been located and a memorial was built over his gravesite.[2] The Standish gravesite memorial is today the most prominent feature in the burying ground.

The burying ground is now owned and maintained by the Town of Duxbury. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

  1. ^ Huiginn, Eugene Joseph Vincent The Graves of Myles Standish and Other Pilgrims (1892)[1] (accessed July 18, 2009 on Google Books).
  2. ^ Browne, Patrick T.J. and Forgit, Norman R. Duxbury...Past and Present. Duxbury: Duxbury Rural and Historical Society (2009), 38.