Palmer Cemetery: The Heart and History of Fishtown

No one seems to know exactly how many people are buried in Fishtown’s Palmer Cemetery. Created for the community by the merchant Anthony Palmer in the 1730s, the cemetery has been such a popular final destination for residents over the generations that the community’s historians have lost count of its eternal tenants, which could number as high as 50,000. Since most Fishtowners know or are related to someone buried at Palmer Cemetery, it “represents an opportunity,” says Kensington historian Ken Milano, “for folks to research their community’s history.” The cemetery is indeed a record of Fishtown. It even has distinct sections from its early years: one is dedicated to shipbuilders, another to fishermen; others were reserved for Germans, English, Irish and Poles—the early groups who settled the area that became Fishtown. In recent years the cemetery has become so crowded that the few plots thought to be vacant have to be physically double-checked and only cremations are accepted. Palmer Cemetery: The Heart and History of Fishtown shows neighbors, family members and local historians reflecting, often humorously, on the ever-bourgeoning cemetery’s significance to Fishtown and the unique history that is reflected in its occupants.