Once a place for picnics and family fun, cemeteries have a long and rich history all over the world. The East Coast has some of the oldest and most unique cemeteries in the U.S.

There are many reasons why historic cemeteries are such a popular tourist destination. For one, cemeteries didn’t exist in the way that we now know them until the mid-19th century. Prior to that, most people were just buried in their backyards or at a church. So any cemetery that predates the Civil War is worth checking out just on that premise alone. What’s also interesting is that a lot of early cemeteries were locations for city parks, playgrounds, and picnic areas. I personally am intrigued with the headstones more than anything else. The changes of American ideology about death is marked in stone. From the plain Jane markers of the 17th and 18th centuries to the more ornate versions that became popular in the Victorian era. Cemetery history could have it’s own webpage.