Historic Graveyard Tour at St. Paul’s Church

A narrative history tour of the colonial graveyard surrounding St. Paul’s Church begins with a brief history of St. Paul’s from its founding in 1711 in British America through the Revolutionary period before visiting the grave sites of early Newburyporters. Hear about the lives of ship captains who perished at sea, the merchants who amassed tremendous wealth, revolutionary leaders like Tristram Dalton who became the first senator from Massachusetts, loyalists whose lives were impoverished and shattered, and the sea captain who transported Thomas Jefferson to Paris in 1783, and the gravesite of the only known African American buried in the graveyard. You will also learn about Rev. Edward Bass the first Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts who had to choose between his loyalty to the crown and his devotion to his church.

The tour is filled with liberal doses of local lore and Revolutionary War history as we

look at the lives of Newburyport during this turbulent period, as well as discussions of gravestone art, symbolism, and poetry over two and half centuries. Gather at the front doors of the church at 166 High Street, Newburyport, MA. The tour is free. Call 978-697-4084 for more information.