Cemetery Restoration 2026

As we have said before, Time has taken its toll on the older tombstones in our county cemeteries. One would not know this from looking at Find-a- Grave photos because most of those pictures were taken twenty -five years ago. Now many of those stones that were once white and standing upright are now lying broken on the ground or covered with moss and black mold, making the inscriptions impossible to read. These “history parks”, that capture the changing history of our county are in need of serious restoration. We don’t have much time to save some of these cemeteries.

The Lawrence County Historical Society is determined to do something about the condition of our pioneer cemeteries.  In the past with the help of a small grant, volunteers purchased D-2 Biological Solution, an approved tombstone cleaner, and spent many hours manually scraping, brushing and spraying tombstones at Ridgley, Wright/Gaddy Cemeteries, Bell, Corrie, Denison, and Moffett cemeteries.  (The solution costs $50 a gallon.) But these cemeteries needed more work to repair, restore and reset broken and semi-buried stones and volunteers were unable to do these jobs.

Thus, trained tombstone restorers who had the ability and tools to do the work that was needed were hired for some of these cemeteries; Otterbein was included as well.  Township tax funds set aside for cemeteries under the townships’ care are only adequate to pay for mowing the cemeteries we were told. The repairs cost between $100-250 a stone depending on size and damage.

Family members, descendants of those buried there, genealogists, neighbors and lovers of old cemeteries heard about our work, and donated money to have some of the stones repaired at these cemeteries. For several years similar private fundraising has provided money to restore stones at Bethel Cemetery. To see some of what we accomplished check out Denison cemetery as you drive south on the Bridgeport road or visit any of the other cemeteries listed above.

Sadly, the funds were not sufficient to repair all the stones as needed. Without funds we cannot continue with those cemeteries.    So, this spring as you visit graves on Memorial Day, or do research on your ancestors’ final resting places, help us continue our work. A gracious donor has kindly funded some work in the old section at White House, also known as Pleasant Hill Cemetery, just north of Bridgeport on the frontage road. Volunteers will be cleaning there, and restoration should begin in a few weeks.

Who doesn’t love being outside on these beautiful spring days?  Get a group of people together and contact us about learning how to properly clean stones or just join our volunteers for a rewarding afternoon, as they “scrape, scrub and spray”, knowing you are preserving Lawrence County history.

Don’t live in Lawrence County or do live here but can’t physically help us? If you like doing research, we can still use you as we put together the “Dearly Departed” biographies. To help with this aspect of our project, or to call about volunteering to clean tombstones, or especially to DONATE money,(Yes Please) contact lawrencelore@gmail.com or call  Nancy King 618-240-2021, Marilyn Wagner 618-310-6452, or Donna Burton 908-208-2372

or mail checks to Lawrence County Historical Society, PO Box 425, Lawrenceville IL 62439.

Photos of tombstones at White House Cemetery April 2026