RESTORING THE PAST: Before-and-after photos highlight grave stone restorations at Old Burial Hill

The Old Burial Hill Committee gave the Select Board an overview of restoration work completed and repairs made at the public and historic cemetery founded in 1638. Committee member Alex Finigan and Town Planner Becky Cutting reported that the committee funded the repairs of a dozen weather-beaten gravestones in 2023.

“These are ancient stones that have weathered for hundreds of years and are at the point where many of them are in critical need,” Finigan told the Select Board. “The more we can do proactively, the better.”

An estimated 1,000 grave markers are on Old Burial Hill. Finigan and Cutting shared before-and-after images to show the progress made over the past year, funded by a $10,000 appropriation approved at the 2022 Town Meeting.

In the first set, Finigan displayed images of the gravestone of Mary Elithrop, who died in 1717, before and after repair work. Initially, Elithrop’s headstone was shown cracked in two pieces near the top, with the fracture running through the inscriptions and decorative winged skull and floral designs. After restoration, the stone stands intact and upright, with barely visible seam lines. The original carvings emerge preserved.
“It was a failure of a previous repair, and it had shattered over the winter,” said Finigan. “We were able to bring it back. It’s now a really beautiful stone.”

 The next pair of images depicted the 1722 memorial of Capt. John Stacy in a shattered state, split into two large fragments stretched horizontally on the ground. Following repairs, Stacy’s gravestone is again upright, and the breaks have been rejoined, maintaining the visibility of the winged face and spiral shapes on both sides.  

Finigan conveyed a pressing need for recurring community donations to finance this perpetual preservation work, which demands constant upkeep due to harsh weathering.

“There is essentially an endless amount of need up there,” said Finigan. “These stones will continue to require care.”

Additional photos spotlighted the committee’s “2024 Priorities” list for pending restorative projects alongside images of varied gravestones in chipped, eroded and broken conditions. The list includes these gravestones and monuments:

The Historical Commission is funding work on the Lost at Sea Monument, and Glover’s Regiment has expressed interest in helping restore Glover’s tomb. Cost estimates put restoration work for the Lost at Sea monument at $11,000 to $13,000; the monument is a poignant reminder of the 65 fishermen tragically lost in the Great Gale of 1846. Meanwhile, officials estimate a Glover’s Tomb restoration price tag to be between $3,500 and $4,500.

“These are stones that are very rare and damaged, and we hope to bring them back to their kind of former state, or at least a semblance of it,” Finigan said. “We want to stay on top of annual repairs and the landscape — we’d like to move from being more reactive to proactive and identifying the issues before the stones fail entirely.”

Staying on top of repairs

All of this comes after a 2022 assessment identified 17 headstones, five footstones and 166 grave markers needing repair, totaling about $75,000 of work.

The team also aims to implement preventative conservation tactics moving forward, like minimizing damage from landscaping equipment that has scarred many aging memorials.

“A large number of stones up in the Hill have been damaged by the lawn mowers that the Park and Recreation Department uses,” said Finigan. “Limiting the use of the mechanized lawnmowers among the gravestones is the single lowest hanging piece of fruit we can identify to avoid further catastrophic damage.”

He added, “We all appreciate the Parks and Rec’s cooperation in this matter.”

A fundraising kickoff event to support future restoration work at Old Burial Hill will be held at The Landing restaurant on April 2, where video updates and information will be presented to potential donors over food and drink.

Finigan said, “We want to set up a more recurring philanthropic funding system so that every year we can bring in donations to stay on top of repairs.”