| Cemetery Number | PW008 |
| Town | PAWTUCKET |
| Cemetery Name | OLD ST. MARY'S CEMETERY |
| Find A Grave (Opens in New Tab) |
Go to Find a Grave
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| Graves List | Display Graves List |
| Location | GEORGE AND GRACE STREETS |
| State | RI |
| Direction | S |
| Pole Number | 11 |
| Distance | 25 |
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| Size in Feet | 440 |
| Size in Feet | 330 |
| Burials | 2500 |
| Inscriptions | 1950 |
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| Exist? | YES |
| Last seen date? | 2014 |
| Newest | 1970 |
| Oldest | 1842 |
| Vandalism | N |
| Veteran | 72 |
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| Comment | This 5 acre cemetery is located behind the church at the corner of George & Grace Streets. There are many early Irish stones in this cemetery that are inscribed with the location in Ireland where the people came from, Parish, town, and county. There are a number down and covered with sod that need to be located with a probe and recorded.
Many gravestones in this cemetery are broken off at ground level and are laying on the ground; more than in any other RI cemetery that I can recall.
Recorded in 1993 by the Irish Genealogical Society (IGS) and John Sterling (JES).
Gravestones photographed in 2014 by Bill Kelley (WFK).
In October of 1827, James Lenox, a resident of Pawtucket, spoke to the Bishop of Boston, the Rt. Rev. Benedict J. Fenwick, regarding the increasing number of Catholics living near Pawtucket. He estimated the number of communicants to be between two and three hundred. In response, Bishop Fenwick dispatched the Rev. Robert D. Woodley. Father Woodley reported upon his return that Pawtucket needed a church. Soon thereafter, Pawtucket industrialist, David Wilkinson, visited the Bishop. Wilkinson had been assured by his Catholic workers that they would settle permanently in Pawtucket if they had a church in which to worship. On August 27, 1828, David Wilkinson (1771-1852); buried in Mineral Springs Cemetery (PW001), joined by his wife Martha, deeded a parcel of land on George Street, which became the site for one of the first Catholic churches built in Rhode Island.
The first St. Mary’s Church was a wooden building, painted white with green doors and Venetian blinds. The cost to construct the new church was $1200. Due to an industrial depression that affected Pawtucket in 1829 the congregation was only able to raise $600, the balance was provided by the Archdiocese of Boston. |
| Condition | fair |
| Enclosure | metal fence |
| Gate | iron gate |
| Growth | grass-well kept |
| Terrain | level |
| Cemetery Location |
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| Cemetery Burial Map |
N/A
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