Old Burial Hill, Marblehead.
Top of the Hill
The central area at the top of the hill has three prominent structures: a gazebo and two obelisks. The obelisk in the middle is an 1848 memorial to seafaring men. The one at far end, which is the highest point on the hill, is a tribute to Revolutionary War hero Captain James Mugford and his crew of the schooner Franklin.
Gazebo and obelisks at top of Old Burial Hill.
Fishermen's Monument

"The sea shall give up the dead that are in it."


On September 19, 1846, the Marblehead fleet was fishing the Grand Banks of Newfoundland when it was caught in a hurricane. Sixty-five perished and at least eleven vessels were lost.

The Marblehead fishing industry never recovered. The Marblehead Charitable Seamen Society, founded in 1831, collected funds for the familes and for a monument. In 1848, the "Fishermen's Monument" was dedicated. It lists the names of deceased members lost on shore and at sea.
Fishermen's Monument.
Men & Boys lost from Marblehead on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in the memorable gale of 1846.
Captain James Mugford and His Heroic Crew
Captain James Mugford, sailing the 60-ton Franklin, captured the 300-ton Hope, the "Powder Ship," so called because it was loaded with munitions. This monument was erected on the 50th anniversary of the event, near the Boston & Maine railroad station. On the event's 100th anniversary, it was moved to its present location on Old Burial Hill.

A TRIBUTE OF MARBLEHEAD
TO THE MEMORY OF
THE BRAVE CAPT. MUGFORD
AND HIS HEROIC CREW
WHO IN THE SCHR FRANKLIN, OF
60 TONS AND FOUR 4 POUNDERS,
MAY 17, 1776, UNDER THE GUNS OF
THE BRITISH FLEET, CAPTURED, AND
CARRIED INTO BOSTON THE TRANS-
PORT HOPE: 300 TONS, 10 GUNS
LOADED WITH MUNITIONS OF WAR,
INCLUDING 1500 BARRELS OF POWDER.
Captain James Mugford Monument.
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