Myles Standish Burial Ground — Local services in Duxbury

This unique little cemetery claims to be the oldest maintained cemetery in the United States. The town of Duxbury has sporadically taken care of the area since the mid-17th century and named the grounds after colonial militant Myles Standish, who is said to have been buried on the grounds on October 1656. The cemetery was a quiet and relaxing walk with plenty of unique, colonial era gravestones. No parking was available at the site, and the main road was busy, but parking on the quieter side streets was not a problem. The ground of the cemetery was fairly flat but soft in some spots, which may prove difficult to navigate for some people with limited mobility. The signage was better than at most cemeteries, although seemingly not always accurate. As an added bonus, a marker to the side of the cemetery, erected in 1939 by the town of Duxbury, denoted the site of the Second Meeting House from 1706 to 1785. This is a good stop if you are already in Plymouth County and want to learn more colonial American history or are a taphophile, a lover...

Boasts “America’s Oldest Maintained Cemetery.”

John and Priscilla of Longfellow’s “The Courtship of Miles Standish” fame (he was an Alden descendant himself) are buried here (in the upper corner if you’re having trouble finding).

They and their 10 children shared a small home that is currently buried behind a local school (you can visit), but they then had another home built (Priscilla may never have resided in it I guess. She died before John), just a bit away, and you can tour that one. I came just as other Alden descendants did too! So cool!

Obviously Myles Standish, Mayflower Passenger hired to be a military commander for the pilgrims, is buried here as well. He and John Alden were not pilgrims and came as hired hands.

I do wish there was parking. I am grateful for the preservation work that went into this place though! Wish we lost had preservation of Massasoit and his family. Our history is so connected!!!

I also visited the Myles Standish estate and statue nearby, as well as the John Alden home nearby (so highly...

My husband & I were drawn to this location due to it being America’s oldest maintained cemetery. The cemetery is very well maintained & very interesting to see. Some of the headstones cannot be read anymore due to the aging of them. The headstones that can be read are neat to read. The only reason I gave the burial ground 4 stars instead of 5 is because there is no parking. We had to park partially in the rode to be able to explore...