It is estimated that between 1640 and the early 1800s most of the people who died within the bounds of modern Hartford, and some who died in the 1600s in what today are East Hartford and West Hartford, approximately between 5,000 and 6,000 people, were interred in the Ancient Burying Ground, including an estimated 300 Africans, African Americans and Native Americans.

A local historian arrived at that estimate around the turn of the twentieth century by multiplying an average of 30 burials annually over a period of 180 years, to arrive at a total of 5,400. Many of those interred in the Ancient Burying Ground have been identified and their lives well documented. But for others, some anonymous, their presence in the Ancient Burying Ground is known only from the record of the cost of digging their graves. An unknown number of those originally laid to rest in the Ancient Burying Ground have been disinterred, and in some cases discarded, as portions of the graveyard were appropriated over the centuries for other uses.

In 1835, 563 names were recorded from extant gravestones in the Ancient Burying Ground. These represent an unknown number of stones, since in some cases a single stone had more than one name on it. In 1877 there were 526 stones standing. Today approximately 422 headstones and 169 footstones are left.

The burying ground is located in the rear of Center Church, Main St, Hartford. There is also an entrance on Gold Street. The mailing address is PO Box 231257, Hartford, CT 06123-1257.

3 March 1640: An order concerning graves: It is ordered that Thomas Woodford shall attend the making of graves for any corpses deceased and that no corpses shall be laid less than four feet deep. None that are above four year old shall be laid less than five feet deep. None that be above ten shall be laid less than six feet deep. He shall receive for giving notice, by ringing the bell, making the grave, and keeping it in comely repair, so that it may be known in future time where such graves have been made: for the lesser sort two shillings and six pense, for the middle sort three shillings, for the biggest sort three shillings six pense." (spelling modernized and punctuation added for readability) [Src: Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, Volume VI. p48 "Hartford Town Votes" Hartford, 1897.