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Mission and Goals

The mission of the North Burial Ground Project is to make the historic North Burial Ground located in Providence Rhode Island an educational and economic asset for the City of Providence, State of Rhode Island, the Blackstone Valley Region and the nation. The primary goal of the Project is to develop a series of on-line tours of the North Burial Ground that will appeal to a wide range of individuals and organizations interested in the historic cemetery. Another important goal of the project is to provide the opportunity for interested Rhode Island College students and faculty to use the North Burial Ground for inter-disciplinary experiential education projects that will benefit the community at large.

Project Origins

The North Burial Ground Project was the idea of Project Director Professor Francis J. Leazes Jr. (Political Science and Public Administration) who along with the assistance of Professor Ronald Dufour (History), Assistant Professors Seth Dixon (Geography) and Erik Christiansen (Public History) are using Social Science, Historical and other Humanities based methodologies to direct the development of the project and assure the quality of the content. Professor Leazes along with Professor Dufour were awarded a Rhode Island College Faculty Research grant to initiate the project during 2011. Students studying Public Administration, Political Science, Computer Information Systems, History, Geography and Digital Media currently are engaged in the project.

Credits

Project Director Francis J. Leazes Jr. MPA, Ph.D.
Humanities Scholar and Editor Ronald Dufour, Ph.D.
Public Historian and Editor Erik Christiansen, Ph.D.
Geographer and Cartographer Seth Dixon, Ph.D.
Project Evaluator Mark T. Motte Ph.D
Researcher Michelle Valletta, M.A.
Research Assistant & Graphic Design Britni Gorman, B.A.
Lead Web Designer and Programmer Chloe Hedenskog
Web Designer and Programmer Scott Renshaw

Project Photography

Erik Christiansen and Francis J. Leazes Jr.

Past Contributors

Mapping Assistant Nic Hardisty, B.A.
Data Base Manager Neale Ross, B.A.
Music by Karl Benziger, Ph.D.
Web Designer and Programmer Shaylin Gruslin

Special thanks to City of Providence employees for their assistance in finding records and graves at the North Burial Ground: North Burial Ground Office Manager Linda A. Callei-Fraioli and Office Clerk Stefon Washington.

Special thanks to Cheryl Kirk Noll for contributing photo's to the Revolutionary Tour Narrative

Participants

The work of the North Burial Ground project is made possible through major funding support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH), an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations, expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The project was the recipient in December 2012 of a RICH major humanities grant with Professor Leazes as Project Director. The Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS) acts as the fiduciary agent for the grant. Rhode Island College (RIC) provided the initial financial support through a Faculty Research Grant 2012-2013. In addition RIC is making computer server space available for the project.

The project is not possible without the cooperation and assistance of the City of Providence and in particular the Department of Parks and Recreation (Robert McMahon, Department Director) which is the administrative arm of the city responsible for the North Burial Ground. In addition Paul Campbell, the Providence City Archivist, has worked tirelessly to uncover long lost records of the Burial Ground and to ensure their survival by re-cataloguing and re-binding the endangered records.

The following individuals and organizations act as an advisory committee for the Project: Valerie Talmage, Executive Director, Preservation Providence Inc.; Henry Duquette, Commission Member, (Rhode Island Historic Cemetery Commission); Lynne McCormick, Director (Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism); Elyssa Tardif, Director, Goff Center for Education and Public Programs; Barbara Barnes, Tourism Services Manager, and Ed O’Donnell, docent, (Rhode Island Historical Society); Wm “Mac” McKenzie Woodward Architectural History, Planning and Joanna Doherty, Architectural History, National Register (RI Preservation and Heritage Commission); Dr. Robert Billington, Executive Director, (Blackstone Valley Tourism Council); Chuck Arning, Park Ranger (The National Park Service); Thomas Schmeling, Member (The North Main Street Merchants Association); James Brayton Hall, Former Executive Director (The Providence Preservation Society); Paul Campbell, City Archivist (Providence City Archives); Robert Burke, Proprietor, Pot au Feu Restaurant; Bruce Frail, American Civil War Ancestor.