Friends Arch Street Meeting House Burial Ground
Photo added by Jennifer M.

Friends Arch Street Meeting House Burial Ground

Also known as Arch Street Meeting House Burial Ground , Friends Arch Street Cemetery , Friends Eastern Burial Ground

Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA

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There is no longer a burial ground visible at this location. The site now houses the Friends Meeting House and administration building, and parking lots.


The burial ground was in use since 1690, the first burial being in 1683, Arch Street was then called Mulberry Street and meeting notes from as late as 1818 call the burial ground Mulburry Street Burial Ground. In 1701 William Penn made it official and deeded the land to be used as a burial ground and over the century as many as 20,000 souls may have been buried there, but as tombstones and grave markers were thought to be ostentatious, so they were not used.

The meeting house was built in 1804 and notes from that time state "it was necessary to invade the domain of the dead" probably meaning the remains were not moved before construction. Even Arch Street itself was built over part of the burial ground as as early as 1850 trench diggers unearthed a skull and bones.

Not only are Quakers buried here but also Revolutionary and Civil War Soldiers, Blacks and Native Americans. The last burial was in 1880.



There is no longer a burial ground visible at this location. The site now houses the Friends Meeting House and administration building, and parking lots.


The burial ground was in use since 1690, the first burial being in 1683, Arch Street was then called Mulberry Street and meeting notes from as late as 1818 call the burial ground Mulburry Street Burial Ground. In 1701 William Penn made it official and deeded the land to be used as a burial ground and over the century as many as 20,000 souls may have been buried there, but as tombstones and grave markers were thought to be ostentatious, so they were not used.

The meeting house was built in 1804 and notes from that time state "it was necessary to invade the domain of the dead" probably meaning the remains were not moved before construction. Even Arch Street itself was built over part of the burial ground as as early as 1850 trench diggers unearthed a skull and bones.

Not only are Quakers buried here but also Revolutionary and Civil War Soldiers, Blacks and Native Americans. The last burial was in 1880.



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  • Added: 7 Jul 2003
  • Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 1966377