Christ Church Burial Ground - A Penny for Ben Franklin

Photo: BernerAchim, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

A stop on Philadelphia Independence Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Walk to the iron fence at the corner of 5th and Arch Streets and look for a flat stone slab covered in coins. That's the grave of Benjamin Franklin, buried here in 1790 beside his wife, Deborah.

People toss pennies onto the stone as a nod to Franklin's reputation for saving money. Franklin wrote his own simple wording for the slab: just his name, his wife's, and the year.

This burial ground belongs to Christ Church, the church you visited a few stops back. It holds the graves of five signers of the Declaration of Independence, including Franklin and Dr. Benjamin Rush, a physician who also argued for public schools and against slavery.

Thousands of other Philadelphians rest here too, from sailors to soldiers of the Revolution. You can see Franklin's grave from the sidewalk for free; the rest of the grounds are sometimes open for a fee, so check before you go.

Getting here: Continue west on Arch Street for about two blocks to the corner of 5th Street; Franklin's grave is right by the corner fence.

Did you know?: The coins left on Franklin's grave are collected and help pay for the upkeep of the burial ground.

Photo op: Lean toward the fence opening at 5th and Arch to photograph the coin-covered slab.

More on Wikipedia: Christ Church Burial Ground · Benjamin Franklin · Benjamin Rush · Deborah Read

Christ Church Burial Ground - A Penny for Ben Franklin

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