Swan Point in Providence

Located off of the beautiful Blackstone Boulevard on the East side of Providence, the rock-lined entrance to Swan Point cemetery hints at what's inside: one of the most sculptured, meticulously maintained and plainly gorgeous cemetery parks in New England. Situated on a series of bluffs overlooking the Seekonk River, many of the residents look to the east across the river. There's also a wonderful drive along the river, and if you're looking for a place for quiet meditation, you can take several turns right down to the river's edge and catch your breath.

A few bits of sculpture makes this a worthwhile place to walk with friends, bicycle, or just casually stroll by yourself, contemplating the dreams and hopes laid out in stone before you.

A few stops are recommended. There's horror writer H. P. Lovecraft's small stone in lot 271 on which he proclaimed to the world, "I am Providence."

(photo: that's Howard Phillips Lovecraft's small stone on the far right there.)

Don't forgot to stop at the burial location Byron and Harriet branch of the Sprague family, where where you can find their 10-year-old daughter Mary and her 3-year-old brother William, both of whom died within three months of each other in 1860, now holding on to each for eternity.

Nearby is the resting place of their parents. Byron died just 6 years after his two children. Harriet, however, suffered that cruelest of fates: to outlive all her loved ones. She wasn't laid to rest next to her husband and children for another fifty years.



Or you might pay your respects to the grave of Elisha Hunt Rhodes. You might remember him from Ken Burns "Civil War." Elisha's letters home during the war served as one of the focal points of the series and were read by that great American storyteller, Garrison Keillor. Rhodes survived that war.

A stop at the office will provide you with a wealth of information, handy maps as well as a self0guided walking or driving tour of the grounds. And just inside the main door you will find a small kiosk, no bigger than an ATM machine, with touch screen instructions that will allow you to find anyone in the cemetery, and then print out a handy map to direct you right to the grave.

But really you will want to spend some time just wandering around this place. it must be beautiful in the spring and summer. I'll be back.