Why can't Providence's North Burial Ground look more like Mount Auburn Cemetery? That was the question for several of us who recently traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts to walk the paths and note the use of space, the stunning variety of trees and plantings, and the mulch and groundcovers protecting the most vulnerable trees such as the beeches. We talked about how great it would be to have a Friends of North Burial Ground, modeled after the Mount Auburn Cemetery Friends. Mount Auburn has many famous people interred there, but so does North Burial Ground, which is 131 years older than Mount Auburn, dating back to 1700. John Sterling's North Burial Ground, Providence, Rhode Island Old Section 1700-1848, lists names recorded on the actual gravestones in the original section of the burial ground. The book is available in many Rhode Island libraries as well as the Rhode Island Historical Society Library. We could have tours, maps, informational pamphlets, and more people to help plant trees and maintain the cemetery. At least one Brown University course has taken a field trip to North Burial Ground in the fall of 2004. All the oldest Providence families have ancestors buried there (e.g., the Brown Family, Dexter Family), some of Rochambeau's army who fell sick and died in Providence are buried there. It is a fascinating place for Rhode Island history and certainly deserves attention and care. So how about starting a Friends of North Burial Ground?
Nice information here. Thanks you!
Posted by: Ames Tiedeman | Saturday, October 07, 2006 at 09:20 AM
This sounds like a job for the Providence Preservation Society in cooperation with Providence Garden Clubs.
Posted by: Layanee A. DeMerchant | Tuesday, July 25, 2006 at 06:10 PM