Plain Cemetery was once part of the common land, which stretched 88 acres through the center of Taunton, Massachusetts. Sometimes called the "North Burying Ground" this cemetery became more commonly known as "Plain Cemetery" due to the expanse of flat land that comprises the cemetery's ten acres.  It is the second oldest municipal cemetery in Taunton. The first being Neck O'Land.

The oldest recorded death date is 1725, for Hannah Leonard.  The town did not formalize the ten acres as a burial ground until 1748, and tradition holds that Rev. Samuel Danforth gave part of his family land for this purpose. Rev. Danforth died in 1727 and may have been the first original burial on these lands, with Hannah Leonard and fourteen others who predeceased Rev. Danforth having been moved there from elsewhere. It was common in the 17th century for families to have their own burial lots on their individual properties, and not be buried in a common burying ground or cemetery.

Originally, there was no charge for lots at the cemetery, and therefore no records exist for many burials until 1908 when the Taunton Parks Department undertook plotting and recording the gravestones. However, tombstone inscriptions lists exist from before 1908. The oldest known set of inscriptions comes from 1885 Hodges book. Inscriptions have been done since 1885, the most recent done by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1938. There are specialized lists naming the forty-two Revolutionary War soldiers and the fifty-three Civil War soldiers buried here, who have a Grand Army Republic (G.A.R.) memorial dedicated to them.  

The people memorialized in Plain Cemetery represent a cross-section of early Taunton society with people from all walks of life represented. One of Taunton's first settlers and the alleged founder of Taunton, Elizabeth Pole, has been reinterred here from her homestead that was once located in present day downtown Taunton. There is the marble stone of Elizabeth Briggs, a hospital worker at Hopewell Mills, the above ground crypt of Hon. Francis Baylies inscribed with his many accomplishments as ambassador and civic leader and the enclosure with its monument of Revolutionary war leader General David Cobb. Yet one of the most unexpected memorials, is that of Elizabeth McKinstrey, the first murder victim in Taunton and her murderer, a Negro slave named Bristol is also buried in this cemetery in an unmarked grave.    

Revolutionary War veterans: 42

Civil War veterans:  53

Information courtesy of Old Colony History Museum Taunton, MA taken in part from the Plain Cemetery, Walking Tour booklet, dated October 13, 2006.

Plain Cemetery is owned and maintained by the City of Taunton.

Vital Records of Taunton, MA designated this cemetery as Grave Record 1 (G.R. 1).

Massachusetts Historical Commission refers to this cemetery in MACRIS as TAU807.

Bristol County Massachusetts Cemeteries Database is "TA001 Plain Cemetery".

Plain Cemetery was once part of the common land, which stretched 88 acres through the center of Taunton, Massachusetts. Sometimes called the "North Burying Ground" this cemetery became more commonly known as "Plain Cemetery" due to the expanse of flat land that comprises the cemetery's ten acres.  It is the second oldest municipal cemetery in Taunton. The first being Neck O'Land.

The oldest recorded death date is 1725, for Hannah Leonard.  The town did not formalize the ten acres as a burial ground until 1748, and tradition holds that Rev. Samuel Danforth gave part of his family land for this purpose. Rev. Danforth died in 1727 and may have been the first original burial on these lands, with Hannah Leonard and fourteen others who predeceased Rev. Danforth having been moved there from elsewhere. It was common in the 17th century for families to have their own burial lots on their individual properties, and not be buried in a common burying ground or cemetery.

Originally, there was no charge for lots at the cemetery, and therefore no records exist for many burials until 1908 when the Taunton Parks Department undertook plotting and recording the gravestones. However, tombstone inscriptions lists exist from before 1908. The oldest known set of inscriptions comes from 1885 Hodges book. Inscriptions have been done since 1885, the most recent done by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1938. There are specialized lists naming the forty-two Revolutionary War soldiers and the fifty-three Civil War soldiers buried here, who have a Grand Army Republic (G.A.R.) memorial dedicated to them.  

The people memorialized in Plain Cemetery represent a cross-section of early Taunton society with people from all walks of life represented. One of Taunton's first settlers and the alleged founder of Taunton, Elizabeth Pole, has been reinterred here from her homestead that was once located in present day downtown Taunton. There is the marble stone of Elizabeth Briggs, a hospital worker at Hopewell Mills, the above ground crypt of Hon. Francis Baylies inscribed with his many accomplishments as ambassador and civic leader and the enclosure with its monument of Revolutionary war leader General David Cobb. Yet one of the most unexpected memorials, is that of Elizabeth McKinstrey, the first murder victim in Taunton and her murderer, a Negro slave named Bristol is also buried in this cemetery in an unmarked grave.    

Revolutionary War veterans: 42

Civil War veterans:  53

Information courtesy of Old Colony History Museum Taunton, MA taken in part from the Plain Cemetery, Walking Tour booklet, dated October 13, 2006.

Plain Cemetery is owned and maintained by the City of Taunton.

Vital Records of Taunton, MA designated this cemetery as Grave Record 1 (G.R. 1).

Massachusetts Historical Commission refers to this cemetery in MACRIS as TAU807.

Bristol County Massachusetts Cemeteries Database is "TA001 Plain Cemetery".