BOSTON — One historian chalks up the popularity of the Old Granary Burying Ground to Paul Revere, or more accurately, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem about Paul Revere's 1775 ride.
"Robert Treat Paine, people don't know," historian Stephen Busby says. "John Hancock is a signature. Sam Adams is associated with beer, but Paul Revere is associated with that poem."
As many as 3,000 daily visitors come to the Old Granary to see the graves of Paul Revere and noted patriots Hancock, Adams and Paine — all three of whom signed the Declaration of Independence. The Old Granary is one of three cemeteries on the Freedom Trail, and it provides a free history lesson.
Established in 1660, it was originally named the South Burying Ground because it was located in the southernmost area of the city. As Boston built out on landfill, it was renamed "Middle" Burying Ground, and ultimately named after the grain storage building that is now home to the Park Street Church.
Like many Bay Staters, Mary Ellen Dixon had driven by the Granary dozens of times, but never visited. "Every time I say 'I've got to go,' " she said.
She finally did, in late December, with her husband, Bill Dixon.
"You can read history, but you can also see it," she said, pausing on a path between the graves of Hancock, first signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Peter Faneuil, a merchant who donated his property, now called Faneuil Hall, to Boston. "We lose perspective in our generation as to what history really was."
Following the red brick path of the Freedom Trail, the Granary is located on busy Tremont Street, steps from Boston Common and the Park Street subway station. The hustle and bustle of the modern city, however, are quickly forgotten as visitors dive into the past.
"This is the Westminster Abbey of the United States," said Busby, referring to the church where British monarchs and notables are buried. "A lot of people get written out of history, but the people here didn't."
Close to the street is the grave of Samuel Adams, the lawmaker and fiery opponent of British taxes, such as the Tea Act. Tired of "taxation without representation," Bostonians set a course for war when they dumped British tea into the harbor.
Near Adams are the victims of the Boston Massacre — so dubbed in 1770 by Adams even though historians say it was more like a riot by colonists — and they include Crispus Attucks, a runaway slave believed to be the first black American killed in the burgeoning war.
Visitors easily find the notable graves, which are marked with small American flags.
"They come to Boston for a history lesson. It's almost a theme park of the American Revolution," Busby said, adding that he especially enjoys the one day a month when immigrants are sworn in as citizens at Faneuil Hall, then follow the Freedom Trail to the cemetery. "The revolution is an emotional concept. They want to be a part of it."
The Freedom Trail has 16 historical sites between Boston Common and the Bunker Hill Monument. An official guide is available at the Boston Common Visitor Information Center. The second cemetery on the trail is King's Chapel, where William Dawes is buried. Dawes rode with Paul Revere.
to warn of advancing Redcoats, but Longfellow left him out of his 1861 poem, "Paul Revere's Ride."
The Old Granary draws up to 3,000 visitors a day in the summer, said Kelly Thomas, project manager for the Historic Burying Grounds Initiative, which is part of the city of Boston Parks Department.
There are 2,345 graves and tombs, officially, with an estimated 5,000 unofficially. Some grave markers are missing and others never went up, Thomas said.