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Frequently Asked Questions (Faqs)
What is the nearest MBTA
Station?
Government Center Station on the Green &
Blue Lines. Depart
the station, turn around 180 degrees away from City Hall and then cross Court
Street. King's Chapel & the burying ground are one block away down Tremont
Street on your left.
What is the cost?
King's Chapel Burying Ground is a public cemetery and
is free to visit.
How long does it take to visit?
About 20 minutes, but one can take 1-2 hours or more
if many markers are visited.
What marker is most visited?
That of
William Dawes. After
entering the front gate, walk down the path on the left. Another path
quickly intersects on your right, follow this path to the tomb.
Where is Governor
Winthrop's marker located?
Enter the front gate and walk
down the path on the left. Take the immediate path on your left. There is a
wide tall stone marker, and a tomb. The tomb is believed to be the final
resting place
Governor Winthrop.
Where is Reverend John
Cotton's marker located?
Enter the front gate and walk
down the path on the left. Take the immediate path on your left. There is a
wide tall stone marker, and a tomb. The wide marker is that of
John Cotton; the
inscription is on the street side of the stone.
What is the strangest fact about the
burying ground?
That William Dawes is buried here. William
Dawes' remains were moved to Forest Hills Cemetery (May family tomb) on March
30, 1882. In 1899, a plaque for William Dawes was later placed on the Dawes family
tomb at King's by the Sons of the Revolution. This
plaque has been the source of information for countless guidebooks ever
since. Another strange story once asserted that someone was
buried alive here in about 1820.
What is the biggest myth about the
burying ground?
That the life of
Elizabeth Pain had
inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne to write The Scarlet Letter. In reality,
it was Elizabeth Pain's marker, with its finely carved shield, that inspired
Hawthorne to describe her headstone in The Scarlet Letter. The wife
of another man that is buried at King's Chapel, who had been punished for
adultery, was likely the true influence to Nathaniel Hawthorne.
What is the 2nd biggest
myth about the grounds?
That Mary Chilton was the first female
passenger aboard the
Mayflower to step ashore at Plymouth Rock. Both of Mary's parents had died
during the Mayflower journey. In reality, due to the culture of 1620, it
is extremely unlikely that a female would have been part of that first
landing party, and even more unlikely that a 14-year old orphan girl would
have been brought ashore initially.
Return to
King's Chapel Page
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