Captain Stephen Olney Memorial Park

Located in North Providence off of Smithfield Rd. up the hill from Shaws and the dollar store shopping complex, this park is just the right size and location for North Providence and Wanskuck residents to take their dogs for romps in the woods. There is ample parking since it never seems to be busy when I go. The park boasts three playgrounds, four tennis courts, two baseball fields, a sledding hill, and numerous benches and picnic tables. There is one main walkway that is paved and a few additional trails in the more heavily wooded areas on either side of the walkway. 



  
The online reviews I've seen will tell you and I agree, that the park needs a little love. Some of the benches have been spray painted and the playgrounds may not be a parent's first choice for their child to play on, but its a great space with a lot of potential.

One of the coolest parts of the this park is that there is a graveyard inside it called the Olney Farm Cemetery. Not just a random graveyard but the grave site of Captain Stephen Olney and members of his extended family. My senior thesis in college focused on burial practices so I sort of have a thing for graveyards. This may seem morbid but its a large part of religious practices and local history and those things interest me. For more information and a look at the grave markers see http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rigenweb/stones/olney_graves.html . 

The Stephen Olney House, a Rhode Island historical location is also on Smithfield Rd. in North Providence so I'll be adding that to my list of things to do in PVD. Mostly I enjoy this park because Edison can safely be off leash and have a good run while I enjoy my travel mug of coffee.



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