Old York Historical Society
3 Lindsay RoadThis tour takes visitors back to the formation of early York, exploring the customs and symbolic rituals that accompanied burial in colonial America. What do the gravestones tell us about the deceased, be they rich or poor? Loyalist or Revolutionary? Ravaged by old age or taken as a child by illness? Visitors will learn about York’s earliest colonial citizens. Who were these people who ventured from their homes across the ocean to settle in this sparsely-populated land?
With more than 100 gravestones still standing in York’s Old Burying Ground, the tour reveals much more than the location and names on the stones. In the absence of words, decorative symbols like the winged death’s head, a cherub, or an urn and a willow, reveal something about ideas regarding religion and death in the 17th and 18th centuries. These symbols, which generally mean little to the modern visitor, held deep significance to our ancestors.
The tour lasts approximately an hour, and takes place in the Old Burying Ground. The terrain is uneven, and comfortable shoes are recommended.
This tour is limited to 16 people.
Jun 24, 2021 - Sep 28, 2023
Old York Historical Society
3 Lindsay Road
Old York cares for 16 buildings, 20 properties, more than 20,000 artifacts, 50,000 archival objects in the library, and serves thousands of people annually through tours, educational programs, exhibitions, and special events.
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