Swan Point Cemetery

Information may not be reliable

SWAN POINT CEMETERY, an estate of some 200 acres, is situated in the northeastern part of Providence, three miles from the Civic Center, extending from Blackstone Boulevard easterly to the shore of the Seekonk River.

The grounds comprise a pleasant combination of lawns and drives, a thrifty growth of forest trees, and a luxurious undergrowth of laurel, rhododendrons, azaleas and other flowering shrubs. There are steep banks and deep ravines by the river side, and from the open places are interesting vistas of the river and the surrounding country. With its great variety and richness of landscape effects, Swan Point Cemetery is not only an appropriate spot for the repose of the dead but an interesting resort for the living.

On the burial lots the blending of old and new monuments and headstones, many of great artistic merit, gives the cemetery a distinctive character. In the older section, near the river, are many ancient stones marking the graves of generations of citizens originally interred in early burying grounds, reflecting an age ante-dating Swan Points origin by more than a century. The newer section has been developed in accordance with modern cemetery technique.

Swan Point Cemetery is a non-sectarian, non-profit corporation, the property of which is held in perpetual trust as a burial place. It has a firm financial foundation. A portion of the receipts from the sale of burial lots, columbarium niches and mausoleum crypts is retained as invested funds and the remainder applied to the improvement of the cemetery and general expenses. Lot owners, known as proprietors, are members of the corporation. The management is entrusted to a board of directors, consisting of nine members of the corporation.

The Cemetery has completed over 150 years of service to the people of Rhode Island and neighboring states. The foresighted and public-spirited founders of this institution created something which continues to be strong and imaginative. They planned ahead and left us the legacy of good management and good planning. If there is any single goal ascribed to by all of us who are charged with the stewardship of Swan Point, it is simply that of ensuring the continuance of our high ethical standards of operation, the dignity and beauty of the grounds and the ability of serving those who need our help - all for a period of time far beyond our capability of understanding.