Portsmouth African Burying Ground

Eight bronze and concrete silhouettes stand in a semi-circle around a burial vault containing remains of thirteen individuals at the Chestnut Street memorial.

The burial ground, active from 1705 to 1803, served as a final resting place for nearly two hundred freed and enslaved African individuals in colonial Portsmouth.

The memorial features the West African Sankofa symbol on the burial vault lid, representing the importance of learning from the past for future generations.

The memorial park, completed in 2015 at a cost of 1.1 million dollars, includes informative plaques detailing the site's significance in New England history.

Two bronze figures, representing an enslaved man facing east toward Africa and a woman facing west, stand at the entrance depicting separation during slavery.

Location: Portsmouth

GPS coordinates: 43.07500,-70.75889

Latest update: March 8, 2025 02:28