St. Anne’s Cemetery
Take a Stroll through the History of Annapolis
Taking a stroll through this 17-acre cemetery is like taking a trip through the history of Annapolis. Beautiful sculptures, simple headstones, and great monuments mark the final resting places of the many people who made Annapolis what it is today.
Those honored and recognized include the Brices, the Randalls, the Chases, as well as those who labored unseen. Many citizens also rest here including former enslaved persons and their families, veterans of all of America’s wars, artisans such as John Shaw who fashioned beautiful furniture for Annapolis’ colonial homes, and professors from the Naval Academy and St. John’s College. Come to walk, reflect, and treasure the history of Annapolis in this sacred space.
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Locations
Two locations compose St. Anne’s Cemetery. The first is the area around the church, which has been used as a cemetery since 1692. The second – far larger – section is located as it has been for the last 200 years, between Northwest Street and College Creek.
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History Tours & Visits to St. Anne's Cemetery
Welcome to St. Anne’s Cemetery, the historic cemetery of the City of Annapolis. You can visit on your own or take a history tour. For information about upcoming tours, fill in the contact form. Kindly review this document for Rules and Regulations governing visitation to St. Anne’s Cemetery Properties.
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Available Cemetery Plots
Cemetery lots are available for sale through December 31, 2025. They can be used for traditional burials or for several cremation burials. The sale must be processed in full by the end of the year. Deposits will not be accepted. A moratorium on cemetery lot sales begins January 1, 2026. Once the moratorium is lifted, prices are expected to increase. For inquiries, contact Mark Strandquist at mstrandquist@stannes-annapolis.org or 703-850-0561.
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Garden of Peace and Remembrance
Visit the Garden of Peace and Remembrance at St. Anne’s Cemetery which was dedicated on May 4, 2025. This is a space for peace, reflection, and remembrance, and is open for all.
Learn more about the history of the cemetery and the creation of this garden.
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Memorial Garden Complex
The Garden of Peace and Remembrance and the Scatter Garden create a framework for the Memorial Garden Complex to be developed at St. Anne’s Cemetery.
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Cemetery Committee
St. Anne’s Cemetery is blessed with a passionate group of volunteers called the “Cemetery Stewards”. Projects include gardening, researching and digitizing cemetery records, cleaning gravestones, and documenting gravestones in Find a Grave. Volunteers are always welcome. Fill in the Contact Form below.
Contact us!
Tour the historic cemetery? Locate a grave? Volunteer with the Cemetery Stewards?
Fill out the form below and let us know how we can help you!
Read a brief cemetery history
Around 1790, Elizabeth Bordley gave St. Anne’s some land between Northwest Street and the shores of Dorsey (now College) Creek. This was originally known simply as the City Cemetery. Many graves were removed from the St. Anne’s churchyard to create the space that is now Church Circle. Many of those removed were unidentified and the remains are buried together in a grassy mound near the highest point close to the original family vault of the Bordleys. The oldest stone in St. Anne’s Cemetery is dated 1767.
The section of the cemetery closest to the Church is also known as Locust Grove Cemetery. A group of redoubtable ladies called The Saint Anne’s and Locust Grove Cemetery Association took care of the cemeteries for many years starting in 1887. The Cemetery Endowment was established in 1909 and is still in existence today taking care of bequests and endowments for the cemeteries and churchyard. There have been more than 2,400 burials in Locust Grove.
Cemetery boundaries were enlarged in 1901 when the City of Annapolis deeded to St. Anne’s a triangular plot of about two acres along the then newly constructed Rowe Boulevard. In 1990, Cedar Bluff Cemetery was merged with St. Anne’s Cemetery. With over one thousand burials, this was first established as an Elks cemetery and, at one time, housed an African-American chapel of worship.
In addition to veterans from most wars and conflicts, there are many well-known Annapolitans buried here. Those buried include members of the Randall, Buchanan, Mackubin, Murray, Key, Pinkney, Claude, Fell, Tilton, Waddell, Dorsey and Brice families. A transcription of grave markers was completed around 1980 by the Anne Arundel County Geneaological Society. More information can be found at www.aagensoc.org.
