Christ Church Burial Ground

Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an important early-American cemetery. It is the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin and his wife, Deborah. Four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Hewes and George Ross. Two more signers are buried at Christ Church just a few blocks away.

The cemetery belongs to Christ Church, the Anglican church founded in 1695 and place of worship for many of the famous Revolutionary War participants, including George Washington. The burial ground is located at 5th and Arch Streets, across from the Visitors Center and National Constitution Center. The Burial Ground was started in 1719, and it is still an active graveyard. 100,000 tourists visit each year, many leaving pennies on Franklin's grave. The cemetery is open to the public for a small fee, weather permitting. Once closed, one can still view Benjamin Franklin's gravesite through iron rails. The iron rails in the brick wall were added for public viewing at the request of Franklin's descendants in 1858.