The modest, spare green space located at the far northern end of Newport’s Old Common Burying Ground known as God’s Little Acre (GLA) holds the largest known collection of colonial era slave burials in the United States. While slate, marble and granite stones stand at many of the graves, many other interments remain unmarked. Care of the property, including the trees, lawns, and gravestones, has been capably managed by City of Newport crews, however the extent of care over the past decades has been limited due to lack of funding. Newport’s citizen-based Historic Cemetery Advisory Committee took notice of GLA’s condition and launched an effort to begin preservation efforts. Concurrently, a private citizen established the God’s Little Acre Preservation Project (GLAPP), a foundation to support the work of the city.

In 2020, GLAPP hired MLLA to prepare a landscape preservation plan for GLA. MLLA researched the history of the property and documented its physical development over time, and assessed the existing landscape conditions. Treatment recommendations included improving entrances, upgrading the perimeter enclosure, removing diseased and dying trees, and clarifying vehicular circulation around the property. MLLA also advised GLAPP on the selection of a qualified stone conservator to complete an inventory and assessment of the gravestones.