Every gravestone is a sentence. Every cemetery is a story. And Rhode Island — one of the oldest corners of the country — has more of those stories per square mile than almost anywhere in America.

This week, preservationist Deb Suggs joins us to make the case that historic cemeteries aren't just resting places for the dead — they're primary sources, open to anyone willing to look. From colonial-era epitaphs to the graves of Revolutionary War soldiers, enslaved people, and forgotten civic leaders, Rhode Island's burial grounds hold a version of our history that no textbook does.

Deb shares what draws her to this work, what's at stake when these sites fall into disrepair, and the remarkable Rhode Islanders — some famous, most not — she's encountered while walking among the stones. It's a conversation about preservation, community, and why the past is never as buried as we think.

In this episode

Why historic cemeteries are some of the most reliable historical records we have • What gets lost when a burial ground is abandoned or destroyed • Stories of Rhode Islanders whose graves reveal lives history overlooked • How anyone can get involved in cemetery preservation • The surprising things gravestones can tell you — from demographics to disease to art history

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What Historic Cemeteries Reveal About Rhode Island