About This Location
The oldest burial ground in New Hampshire, dating to the 17th century and containing 125 interments along the Piscataqua River.
The Ghost Story
Point of Graves Burial Ground on Mechanic Street in Portsmouth is the oldest surviving cemetery in the city, established in 1671 on land deeded to the town by Captain John Pickering. The small plot overlooking the Piscataqua River contains approximately 125 gravestones, the earliest legible one dating to 1682. No stones survive from before that date because Captain Pickering's cattle were allowed to continue grazing among the markers after the burial ground was established, and the animals knocked over and destroyed the oldest memorials.
The cemetery holds some of the finest examples of early gravestone artistry in New England. Master carvers from Massachusetts, including Bostonians William Mumford, Nathaniel Emmes, and John Homer, along with the brothers Caleb and Nathaniel Lamson and a mysterious carver known only by his initials JN, created the winged skulls, hourglasses, and carved borders that distinguish the headstones. The notable burials include members of the Wentworth, Vaughan, Rogers, and Lear families, all central figures in Portsmouth's colonial prominence.
One burial in particular stands out in the historical record. Elizabeth Elatson, who died in 1704 or 1705, was a victim of a house fire, and the account of her death published in the Boston News-Letter was the first published report of a house fire in American journalism. Her story is part of the fabric of early colonial Portsmouth, where fire was a constant threat to the wooden port city.
The paranormal reputation of Point of Graves centers on several distinct phenomena. The most frequently reported involves Elizabeth Pierce, whose winged-skull-decorated headstone seems to generate an unusual energy. Visitors standing near her grave consistently describe a strong, unseen presence that follows them as they move through the cemetery. Paranormal investigator and author Roxie Zwicker reported being gently but firmly shoved by an invisible force while standing beside Elizabeth Pierce's stone, a physical encounter that she described as unmistakable rather than imagined.
Near the graves of two children buried side by side, visitors report overwhelming waves of grief that dissipate the moment they step away from the stones, as though the emotions are localized to that exact spot. The above-ground tomb belonging to Dr. Vaughan has been documented glowing with an unexplained luminescence when captured in photographs, a phenomenon that multiple visitors have independently reported and photographed.
The cemetery sits opposite Prescott Park, between Marcy Street and the Peirce Island Bridge, and the sound of wind whistling through the old trees mingles with the waves of the Piscataqua River rippling out to sea. Ghost tours operated by New England Curiosities and other companies regularly bring groups through Point of Graves on their Shadows and Stones Cemetery Tour, where guides relate the histories of the colonial dead and invite visitors to experience whatever lingers among the 350-year-old stones for themselves.
