The Old Burying Point, established around 1637, is the oldest cemetery in Salem and one of the oldest in the United States. Its weathered slate headstones, carved with winged skulls and hourglasses, document three centuries of Salem families — sea captains, merchants, judges, and ordinary citizens. The inscriptions are still legible on many stones, and the symbolism carved into them tells a story of Puritan attitudes toward death and the afterlife.
Judge John Hathorne, the only magistrate who presided over the 1692 witch trials and never recanted, is buried here. Nathaniel Hawthorne, his descendant, was so troubled by the family connection that he changed the spelling of his name. The cemetery is open daily and free; the adjacent Salem Witch Trials Memorial makes them natural companions. A quiet visit before the city wakes up, when you have the stones to yourself, is the best way to experience it.