How Cemetery Care Is Organised in Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country, but its burial grounds are numerous and varied. Colonial family plots sit near Victorian garden cemeteries, Catholic parish cemeteries and modern memorial parks. Our directory lists 64 of them, from Swan Point Cemetery in Providence to Tiverton Hillside Cemetery near the Massachusetts line.

The state measures under 50 miles in either direction, so most families can reach several cemeteries within an hour. The harder task is learning who actually owns the ground. That answer decides whom you call, what paperwork you need and what you pay.

Four kinds of owners behind Rhode Island cemeteries

Rhode Island has five counties, but they are geographic labels only. There is no county government, so no county office sells lots or records burials. Everything happens at the city or town level or with a private operator. In practice you will deal with one of four kinds of owner:

A fifth category, the state itself, runs the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter. More on that below.

When you buy a grave, you normally buy a right of burial, not the land itself. The deed or certificate spells out who may be interred, which markers are allowed and whether perpetual care is included. Ask for the written rules and regulations before you sign anything.

Metro Providence, South County and the Islands: How Rhode Island Cemeteries Differ

The northern and central cities hold the largest concentration. Cranston, Pawtucket, Warwick, Providence, East Providence and Woonsocket all have multiple listings, and the properties tend to be large, with staffed offices, grounds crews and set burial schedules. Cranston Oakland Cemetery on Broad Street, Swan Point Cemetery on Blackstone Boulevard and Pawtuxet Memorial Park Cemetery on Harrison Avenue in Warwick are typical of what you will find.

Swan Point opened in 1846 as a garden cemetery and still draws visitors for its landscape as well as its burials. The writer H. P. Lovecraft is buried there. Large cemeteries like this usually set visiting hours and rules on vehicles, flowers and decorations, so check before you go.

South County, the local name for most of Washington County, mixes farmland, villages and coastline. North Kingstown and South Kingstown each have five listings, including North Kingstown Elm Grove Cemetery on Tower Hill Road and New Fernwood Cemetery on Kingstown Road. Distances between cemeteries are short, but routes can be slow in summer when beach traffic builds on Route 1 and the shore roads.

Newport County is mostly islands and peninsulas. The Common Burial Ground on Farewell Street in Newport dates to the 1600s and is known for its carved colonial gravestones, including a section where many of the city's enslaved and free Black residents were buried. Cedar Cemetery in Jamestown sits on Conanicut Island, reached by bridge from either Newport or North Kingstown. Newport Memorial Park in Middletown and Tiverton Hillside Cemetery are also listed here. Allow extra time for funeral processions in Newport during the tourist season.

The rural interior works differently. Greenwood Burial Grounds in Scituate, Acotes Hill Cemetery in Chepachet and Maple Root Cemetery on Nooseneck Hill Road in Coventry are smaller operations, often run by a part-time sexton or a local association. Acotes Hill Cemetery and the Chepachet Cemetery Association list the same phone number, 401-568-5860, so one contact may handle both. Expect voicemail rather than a front desk, and call early in the day.

Exeter's Veterans Cemetery and Rhode Island's Historic Burial Grounds

The Veterans Memorial Cemetery at 301 South County Trail in Exeter is run by the state, not by a town. Honorably discharged veterans, and in many cases their spouses and eligible dependents, may qualify for burial there. Families should have the veteran's discharge papers, usually Form DD-214, ready. Your funeral director normally helps with the application. For questions, call 401-268-3088.

Rhode Island also has thousands of small historic cemeteries, many on private land, in woods or beside highways. A state historical cemetery commission keeps a statewide database, and most sites carry a town-based identification code. Those codes help you find a specific plot on a town map. State law generally lets descendants and the public reach these burial grounds, but you should contact the landowner and the town first. Never move, scrub or take rubbings from fragile stones unless the site rules allow it.

Colonial-era Quaker sites, such as the Friends Meetinghouse cemetery at 11 Middle Road in Portsmouth and the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery at 234 West Main Road in Little Compton, are usually quiet places for history visits rather than routine burial. Contact the meeting before you visit.

Rhode Island's Five Counties and Your Search

Counties help you narrow a search even without a county government. Providence County has the most listings and covers Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Central Falls, Lincoln, Johnston and the northwest villages. Washington County takes in South County and Exeter. Kent County includes Warwick, East Greenwich and Coventry. Newport County covers Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Jamestown, Tiverton and Little Compton. Bristol County has the fewest listings, with Bristol Saint Marys Cemetery on Chestnut Street among its entries.

Pick the county first, then the town, then the individual cemetery. Our listing pages show the address and phone number where we have them. Some entries have no phone number, such as Carpenter Lakeside and Springvale Cemeteries on East Drive in East Providence, so you may need to ask the city clerk or a local funeral home.

Before you call a Rhode Island cemetery office

Use this checklist when you phone a Rhode Island cemetery office:

A few minutes on the phone with the right office usually saves days of back-and-forth later.

Government cemeteries in Rhode Island include facilities administered by the VA's National Cemetery Administration, state veterans cemeteries funded through state and federal partnerships, and local municipal and county cemeteries operated by city and county governments throughout the state.

Cemetery locations are available in 29 cities across Rhode Island. They are spread across 5 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include Pawtucket, North Kingstown, Cranston, where established municipal cemeteries have served their communities for generations and maintain extensive historical burial records.

Veterans in Rhode Island may be eligible for burial in a state veterans cemetery at little or no cost. Contact the Rhode Island Department of Veterans Affairs or Veterans Services to confirm eligibility requirements and available state-operated facilities.

Cemetery by Counties

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Families and genealogists in Rhode Island can often request burial records from municipal cemetery offices or search online databases maintained by state archives and historical societies. Many Rhode Island counties have digitized older cemetery records that are available through county clerk or public library genealogy collections.

Browse Cemetery by county across Rhode Island to find the nearest location.

Timing and Local Practice for Rhode Island Burials

Rhode Island's compact size shapes how funerals work. Families in Providence, Cranston or Warwick can often visit two or three cemeteries in a single afternoon, compare lot options and still reach a funeral home before closing. That convenience is real. It also means you can compare more than one option before committing, which is worth doing because lot prices, rules and available space differ widely from one cemetery to the next.

Weather matters more than most people expect. Winters bring frozen ground, and coastal storms can close shore roads in Newport County and South County. Ask the cemetery how it handles winter burials and whether graveside services are scheduled differently. Summer brings its own pressure, with tourist traffic around Newport and the beaches of Washington County.

Visiting is simpler than burying. Most large cemeteries, including Swan Point Cemetery in Providence and Pawtuxet Memorial Park Cemetery in Warwick, welcome visitors during posted hours. Smaller and historic grounds, such as Cedar Cemetery in Jamestown or Moshassuck Cemetery in Central Falls, may have limited office hours, so call ahead if you need a lot map or want a staff member to locate a grave.

Genealogists have good options here. Rhode Island towns have kept vital and land records since colonial times, and many cemetery transcriptions have been compiled by local historical societies. Start with the cemetery office if it is still active, then check town hall and the state historical cemetery commission's database. Many local libraries also hold cemetery transcriptions.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cemeteries in Rhode Island

Rhode Island has no county government, so there is no county cemetery office. Day-to-day matters are handled by the owner of each cemetery: a city or town, a church or diocese, a nonprofit association or a private company. For a grave in a place like Cranston Oakland Cemetery or New Fernwood Cemetery in South Kingstown, call the office directly using the number in our listing. If a listing has no phone number, ask the town clerk or a local funeral director who operates the ground. State law sets general rules for burial and for historic sites, but lot sales are a local matter.

The Veterans Memorial Cemetery at 301 South County Trail is a state-run cemetery for eligible veterans and, in many cases, their spouses and dependents. Eligibility turns on military service and discharge status, so you will need the veteran's discharge papers, usually Form DD-214. Your funeral director can normally start the process, and you can call the cemetery at 401-268-3088 to confirm current requirements, scheduling and any rules about markers. Confirm the date and time with the cemetery before you notify extended family. Eligible veterans can also request a government-furnished headstone or marker through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Usually yes, but not without some preparation. Rhode Island has thousands of small historic burial grounds, and many sit on private property, in woodlots or behind new housing. State law generally allows descendants and interested visitors to reach them, yet you should contact the landowner and the town first. Find the cemetery's identification code in the state historical cemetery database, bring a printed map, and wear sturdy boots. Take photographs rather than rubbings, do not clean stones with household chemicals, and report any vandalism or damage to the town and local police.

Your funeral director normally handles most of it. A death certificate must be filed with the state through the vital records system, and a burial or cremation permit must be in place before the cemetery or crematory proceeds. Cremation generally requires additional authorization, which can include medical examiner approval. Bring the deceased's full legal name, date and place of birth, parents' names and Social Security number to the funeral home. If a family lot already exists, also bring the deed or certificate, because the cemetery office will want to confirm who holds the burial rights.

Start with the town and approximate death date. If the cemetery is still active, such as Swan Point in Providence or Mount St Marys in Pawtucket, call its office, since staff can often search burial records by name. For older graves, check the state historical cemetery database, the town clerk's office and the local historical society. Colonial-era burials in Newport's Common Burial Ground on Farewell Street are well documented by local historians, while family plots in rural towns may only appear in volunteer transcriptions. Obituaries, church registers and death records can help you narrow the town before you search cemeteries.

Ask who owns the cemetery and whether the lot is sold as a burial right. Request the written rules on monuments, foundations, flowers and plantings, and ask whether perpetual care is included or charged separately. Get a full price list that covers opening and closing the grave, any vault or liner requirement and the marker foundation. If you are choosing between a Catholic cemetery like Bristol Saint Marys and a private one like Newport Memorial Park in Middletown, ask each about burial eligibility, since church-run grounds can have their own rules. Never feel pressured to decide on the first visit.