In 1826, the First Church of the New Jerusalem was beset with financial difficulties and they were forced to sell their Temple and grounds to the Academy of Natural Sciences. In 1827, Hartman Kuhn and his wife, Ellen, conveyed a lot of ground on the east side of Schuylkill 7th Street, on the north side of Hill Street (now 16th and Mount Vernon), for use as a burying ground, although burials had likely been made for several years prior. The Society had reestablished the First Church in what was then Penn Township, Philadelphia County, which led to the organization sometimes being styled as the "Union Independent Church of Penn Township."

However, their burial ground was expensive to maintain. By an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature, the trustees of the First New Jerusalem Church of Philadelphia were authorized to sell and convey the lot of ground "situate on Bush-hill, in the county of Philadelphia," to other parties. On April 1, 1836, they conveyed the burial ground to the Central Presbyterian Church for $900, reserving the right of interment for named individuals for 29 8' × 10' burial lots, which had already been sold.

The Central Presbyterian Church had originated as a splitter congregation from the Second Presbyterian Church. A congregational meeting was held May 21st, 1832, in the Franklin Institute, on 7th Street. The church was organized on the 19th day of June following, in the old Whitefield Academy, on 4th Street, where the congregation continued to worship for nearly two years. On February 5th, 1833, the church was incorporated as the "Central Presbyterian Church in the City of Philadelphia." On April 22, 1833, the cornerstone of a church edifice was laid at the corner of 8th and Cherry Streets.

By an act of April 19, 1850, the Central Presbyterian Church was empowered to sell the burial ground in Fairmount. Parts were sold in 1851, and burials were relocated to lots the Church had purchased in the United American Mechanics Cemetery.

A parking lot and school occupy the site of the old burial ground today.