bout the year 1831, George W. McClelland and a group of trustees connected with the Fifth Presbyterian Church purchased a lot of land to establish a burial ground on the north corner of what was then Ann and Powell Streets (now Wylie and Perkiomen Streets) in Francisville, filling the entire square Vineyard and Grape (now Leland) Streets. The ground was to supplement that congregation's small churchyard on Arch Street. The first burial in the Francisville Burial Ground was made on July 1, 1832 and soon both lot holders and strangers were being interred there.

In 1833, a small wood-frame Presbyterian chapel was erected on a part of the graveyard. The building was capable of holding about two hundred persons and cost about five hundred dollars. This building, affectionately known later as "The Old Frame," was located on the corner of Vineyard and Powell Streets. In December, 1846, the congregation elected to constitute a new church under the name "The Green Hill Presbyterian Church," and to build a larger, more permanent building. They moved to their new home late in 1848.

That same year, about $2,000 worth of lots (on the Vineyard Street side) in the burial ground were sold for building construction. The last burial in the remaining lots was made in 1853. In 1854, a number of lots were transferred to undertaker Daniel B. Grove who set to work clearing the grounds. Grove transferred a number of interments to the United American Mechanics Cemetery, the Odd Fellows Cemetery, Laurel Hill Cemetery, and elsewhere beginning in 1855, and continuing through 1858.

The work however was not finished when, in 1859, the City of Philadelphia obtained a judgement against the trustees of the burial ground for work done against the ground by Samuel Miller. The grounds were subsequently seized by the sheriff.

In September 1861, the grounds were sold to William Howell and his wife, who shortly thereafter, in January 1862, sold the ground to Daniel B. Grove. In March, Grove commenced the removal of the remaining bodies, and it was noted that at one point in the process a large crowd had gathered and demanded to see the body of a woman reported to have been "petrified." When the sexton refused, the crowd turned violent and had to be dispersed by police.

The ground was subsequently sold for development, and today housing occupies the site.

Note: Due to proximity, this cemetery is sometimes confused with the nearby City Public burial ground at the Vineyard.