Historic society launches app for self-guided tours of Pennsylvania's oldest graveyard

Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Episcopal Church in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood is both Pennsylvania’s oldest surviving brick building and oldest church. Established in 1646 as a Swedish Lutheran church and built between 1698 and 1700, the church is older than the city of Philadelphia. Its graveyard, which is even older than the church building, has remained in operation since it began receiving burials around 1677.

Amy Grant, chair of the nonprofit Historic Gloria Dei Preservation Corporation and an Old Swedes’ parishioner, said in an interview that the remains of an estimated 5,000 people are interred at Old Swedes’ graveyard, but only about 1,000 of them are on record. The oldest surviving headstone, belonging to Peter and Andreas Sandel, dates to 1708.

“Every time I do research on somebody that I knew nothing about who’s buried at Old Swedes’, I learn something fascinating,” Grant said. “There’s an architect who preserved historic buildings and worked on a bank that was prominent during the Civil War, and the first female journalist for the Philadelphia Daily News. These are stories that can inspire future generations.”