Touring the North Burial Ground
NORTH BURIAL GROUND TRAILER
A Perfect Place in Providence: The Providence North Burial Ground
The Providence North Burial Ground has served the Providence and Rhode Island public since at least 1700. The 110 acre burial ground is the largest, and one of the oldest, public cemeteries in Rhode Island. The cemetery’s history, connections to the community and ecology make it a unique part of the Providence landscape. Gravesite reenactments happen all year long across the country, from California to Rhode Island, but October, leading up to Halloween, is when historic cemeteries like North Burial Ground truly come alive.
Honoring the Legacy
Professor Leaze is among the first in the modern day experts in the country, leading historical reenactments across the country. Among the notable persons along the NBG tours include Edward M. Bannister and his wife, the entrepreneur, hairdresser, and abolitionist Christiana Carteaux Bannister. Her headstone was designed by Mr. Bannister’s friends and fellow artists at the Providence Art Club. Christiana Babcock Carteaux Bannister died on December 29, 1902, and was buried next to her husband in the North Burial Ground.
This plaque was placed in 1975 on Bannister’s grave in the North Burial Ground following a fundraising and design campaign led by Mahler B. Ryder, the first tenured Black professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. Bannister was born in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1828 and settled in Providence around 1870. He received acclaim for his paintings and was the first African American artist to win a national award for his painting, “Under the Oaks.”
