The Free Ground at North Burial Ground - Providence, Rhode Island
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N 41° 51.012 W 071° 24.580
19T E 299963 N 4635951
Near the central western side of North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island, is a plot of several acres designated "The Free Ground". It the final, segregated resting place for thousands of people in unmarked graves.
Waymark Code: WM162N9
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 04/21/2022
Views: 1
Along River Avenue near the central western side of North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island, is a plot of several acres designated "The Free Ground". It the final, segregated resting place for thousands of people in unmarked graves. This sign is the only marker for the entire open field. It begins:
The area designated as Free Ground holds the remains
of thousands of people in unmarked graves. Established
in 1871, burials in these sections took place in the late
19th and early 20th centuries. At the time, segregation
permeated American society, and this held true within
the Free Ground (though not in other parts of the North
Burial Ground). The Free Ground is segregated into a
"Colored Free Ground' and a "White Free Ground," and
the "Colored" section is further divided by gender.
Those interred in the Free Ground remain anonymous
to cemetery visitors because they were "colored," and
therefore treated as second-class citizens, were
impoverished, or had lived and died in a state institution
(orphanages, hospitals, prisons, etc.). In order to begin
to bring these individuals back from anonymity, the
following brief biographies are intended to pay respect
to all who were buried here. Their stories remind us of
the difficulties that these men, women, and children
faced, both during and at the end of their lives.
Following that introduction are four biographies:
- Tim Morris (born Joseph Griffin), who made his career as a
minstrel in blackface, was interred in the White Free Ground.
- Margaret Burrill, a young girl of color, lived with her parents,
Samuel and Ellen Burrill, in Providence, died after a burn accident.
- George James, a West Indian who worked as the chief cook on the ill-fated steamer Larchmont, which was sunk on the journey to New York from Block Island when it collided with another vessel.
- Albin Evelin, who at the age of seven, was admitted to the State Infirmary in Cranston, Rhode Island, where he was later pronounced dead as a result of "Cerebral Spinal Syphilis."
The next segment details "The Home for Aged Colored Women monument was erected by Frances J. Vinton to remember those who passed away at the facility..." And, lastly, at the bottom right corner is a "map that shows how the Free Ground was segregated segregated by those considered 'colored' or 'white, along with the years that these areas of the free ground were in use."
The main gate at North Burial Ground is open seven days a week, 8:00AM - 4:00PM, all year. Last car entry through the gates is 3:45 PM. Late Spring-Early Fall: Saturdays and Sundays 8:00AM - 6:00PM. Seasonal hour changes are dependent on weather conditions.