Join the Bristol Historical & Preservation Society for a lecture with Arborist and Superintendent at Juniper Hill Cemetery, Chris Fletcher.

This event is free and open to the public, and is jointly presented by the Lombard J. Pozzi Center for Historic Preservation Education at the BH&PS, Blithewold Manor, and the Rogers Free Library. This event will be offered both in-person and online. Please register to secure a spot or receive the Zoom link.

In the mid-19th century, populations in New York, London, and Paris reached one million people for the first time. By the time of the Industrial Revolution, urban cemeteries were overcrowded; for health reasons, cemeteries were moved into rural environments. Eventually, other trends began to take hold in industrialized countries. American wealth and power allowed Americans to join Europeans in Collecting plants from around the world. Rural, garden cemeteries became the holding areas of trees in the form of arboretums. They were open to the public as our first American parks, but were also fundamentally different from the formal gardens that had preceded their development. 

This event is the first in a program series entitled, "Deep Roots: Bristol's Historic Trees," which dives into the history and preservation of Bristol's landscape. Join us for the second lecture in this series on April 1, entitled, "The Evolution of the American Urban Forest." This series will culminate with events at Blithewold this summer, and two walking tours designed to explore Bristol's historic trees throughout downtown.

Learn more about Chris Fletcher:

Raised in Bristol, Chris followed his passion to earn a Bachelor's degree in Landscape Design. Following his graduation, he spent twelve years with the RI Department of Transportation writing preservation reports to protect local tree populations during road construction projects. Chris joined Bartlett Tree Experts in 1996, where he served for 20 years as an Arborist Representative and a Local Office Manager. Chris is also entrusted with the care of Bristol's historic Juniper Hill Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark, where he helps to preserve older tree specimens.