City maps sites from Colonial era

Of the 158 cemeteries in Warwick, one of Rhode Island’s oldest cities, 23 burial sites have been lost, moved to other locations or simply obliterated with no accounting.
To help navigate the remaining historic sites, Mayor Scott Avedisian said, a 1997 book containing detailed information, called “Warwick, R.I., Historical Cemeteries,” has served as a primary resource not only for city residents but for others deeply interested in tracing historical roots or activity.
But, a year from now, courtesy of a $9,000 grant from the that book will no longer be the primary resource. Those 158 cemeteries and other precious historic markers and underground archeological sites in Warwick, West Warwick, Coventry, East Greenwich and West Greenwich, will be mapped using a Geologic Informational System (GIS).
The result for all of Kent County, according to the Warwick mayor and commission Deputy Director Rick Greenwood, will be a highly accessible, electronic treasure trove of public information. In Warwick’s case, the results eventually will be available on the city’s website, Avedisian said.
“We’re trying to undertake a GIS mapping program of the entire city, for planning purposes, development purposes and coordination with neighborhood groups,” he said, “so we want to key in on all the historic sites. We really want to make sure we’re focusing on and tackling the historic periods since our founding” in 1642.
A GIS uses tools like mapping and interactive queries to capture, store, analyze and manage geographical data. A system like this “can amplify our understanding of a period for which we have very little physical evidence,” Greenwood said.
The U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, funds the grant, which is part of the Certified Local Government program. Covering the time period between 1636 and 1740 in Kent County towns, the GIS project will map Colonial settlements, mostly those below ground, in order to help identify and protect them from development, as well as enhance understanding of early English history.
“Some of the most recognizable things [mapped] will be cemeteries,” said Greenwood. “That’s one of the exciting and necessary parts of this. We’ll be putting markers on the map to say this is a place that was important in the (earlier) centuries and from this will be an enhanced understanding of development.”
Avedisian said that the more information available through GIS, the more the city’s planning, economic development and tourism departments will be able to help the public, which already frequently turns to the city for this type of information. The money received will be matched with in-kind funding from city planning staff, he said.
While not direct descendents of early settler Samuel Gorton, Avedisian’s great-grandparents, John E. and Hildegarde Tillman, are buried in the Gorton Wing Lot burial ground. Looking up information about them will soon become easier as the GIS mapping is completed, he said.
“It’s our history and our past, so we want to make sure we’re doing all we can to preserve what we have and not lose any more,” Avedisian said.
Added Greenwood: “There’s a sense of place and heritage Rhode Island has that’s special. In terms of preservation, these can be fragile resources. If we do have them, we don’t want to lose them. So by doing this kind of more precise mapping, the cities, towns – everybody – can be more sensitive to what’s there, study them and avoid losing or damaging them.” •

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