Washington Square
One of William Penn's five original 1682 squares, this leafy park near Independence Hall sits atop a mass grave. For decades it served as a potter's field, burying enslaved people, the indigent, Revolutionary War soldiers, and thousands of victims of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic, dumped into long trench pits dug along the 7th and Walnut Street edges. Excavations during the 20th century unearthed bones, and in 1957 a Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier was placed here over remains found on site. Its best-known ghost is Leah, a Quaker woman said to have guarded the graves against body snatchers in life; her figure, in colonial dress and carrying a lantern, has reportedly been seen by visitors and ghost-tour guides at night. People also describe a pervasive uneasy presence, the feeling of being watched, and a bright light drifting across the grounds.
📍 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA 19106, Philadelphia, PA · Get directions