Swan Point is truly the gem of Providence. When I discovered it, it was a very sad time for our family. Searching out burial options for a stillborn child is heartbreaking. My heart was comforted the moment we first visited. The sentinel trees and all the symbols on the monuments helped me feel not alone as a grieving parent. Swan Point is a 200 acre garden cemetery that began in 1846. It has much older sections where entire church graveyards were relocated. Today we had a guided tour by Kelly Perry, a Swan Point Horticulturist. It was a gorgeous October day to homeschool in New England. We learned so much about Rhode Island history, how a cemetery works, and the names of several trees.
This Tulip Poplar is 150-200 years old and is 11 kids in circumference. Poplars are what they used to make ship masts.
This is the last remaining of three receiving tombs. They were used prior to 1960 to house bodies during the winter when the ground is too frozen. A backhoe was bought at Swan Point in 1960.
Colonel John Slocum, who died at Bull Run. The sculpture on top of the monument is intricate Civil War uniform and flag.
The back of Colonel John Slocum’s monument.
Blue Atlas Cedar. My favorite evergreen in the cemetery.
Waterman Street monument. This used to reside on Waterman Street as a monument to the original Richard Waterman who left Bristol, England and traveled to Boston with Roger Williams and was therefore expelled as well.
George Corliss was the inventor of the Corliss Steam Engine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corliss_steam_engine
Horticulturist Kelly Perry with our kids after they planted their own Spruce tree seedlings.