Franklin Pierce, fourteenth president of the United States, is buried in the cemetery, as are his wife Jane and two of his three sons.

Iron fencing lines both of these street-facing boundaries, with a gate flanked by stone piers on North State Street serving as the main pedestrian access point.

The eastern portion of the cemetery was laid out in 1730, and its oldest dated burial occurred in 1736.

Significant enlargements took place with the Minot Enclosure (1860), and the combining with an adjacent Quaker cemetery in the early 20th century.

The single most notable burial is that of President Franklin Pierce; other notable burials include Governors David L. Morril and Matthew Harvey, as well as Lewis Downing, founder of the Abbot-Downing Company and creator of the Concord coach.