Beaufort's Old Burying Ground

Beaufort, bordered by the waters of Taylor’s Creek and Beaufort Inlet, is a picturesque, thriving coastal town, filled with rich traditions and a unique North Carolina heritage. Historic homes and shops, many predating the birth of George Washington, stand majestically in the shadows of graceful live oak trees. The town’s sidewalks are lined with white picket fences, distinguished by a rainbow assortment of well-tended flowers. Centered in this beautiful, historic town, the Old Burying Ground is a fascinating treasure-trove of little-known seacoast stories and legends that have shaped Beaufort’s identity, from its maritime roots before the Revolutionary War to the present. In Beaufort’s Old Burying Ground, you will enjoy a visual tour of one of the East Coast’s most interesting and historic cemeteries, where you will learn the stories of patriots, privateers, and pirates who played a strategic role in the area’s history and were buried within the cemetery’s confines. Through these different tales and legends, an extraordinary tapestry is woven of star-crossed lovers, victims of the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1864, the American Indian “Wars and Massacres,” family histories, Confederate spies’ daring deeds, shipwrecks, and the sadness of young lives snuffed out too soon.