The Granary Burial Ground was once a part of Boston Commons until it was converted to a burial ground in 1737. The livestock that were kept in the commons grazed the land on the burial ground as a way of landscaping the cemetery. It is named after the 12,000-bushel grain storing building that was formerly next door to the burial ground. There are approximately 5,000 people buried there but there are only 2,345 headstones. This is because the headstones were reorganized in the Victorian era. The headstones were reorganized into rows to accommodate the newly invented lawn mower.

          There is a large stone obelisk marking the graves of Benjamin Franklin’s parents. Another obelisk along a far wall marks John Hancock’s tomb. There are two markers for Paul Revere’s grave: a large pedestal-type marker next to a smaller, slate maker. In the front of the burial ground, there are two matching stones to mark the graves of Samuel Adams and James Otis. Otis was a local politician in support of the Patriot cause. Next to John Adams’ grave, there is a stone marker commemorating the victims of the Boston Massacre. The five victims of the massacre are buried in the Granary Burial Ground.

          On the right-hand wall of the burial ground, a plaque marks the tomb of Robert Treat Paine. Paine was the third man to sign the Declaration of Independence. Three signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here: Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Robert Treat Paine. Peter Faneuil is also buried here.

​

​

Sources: https://www.boston.gov/cemeteries/granary-burying-ground 

                http://www.thefreedomtrail.org