Surveying of the
Brucetown Historical Cemetery
(Best Viewed Resolution 1024X768 pixels)
The Photography by Chris Drake |
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| The Brucetown United Methodist Church Cemetery was established in the community around 1819, when the first post office was established for the village. Documented internments began in the 1820’s, with at least one grave stone inscribed with the year 1822. The church has embarked on a preservation project for this historic cemetery that began with cleaning, repairing and righting many of the headstones. |
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From left to right: Mr. Osborn Mills, Mr. Scott Marsh, |
Phase three will conclude the project by introducing digital images of each head stone and associating the GPS mapping and other internment information. |
Why is this preservation project so important? Cemeteries are like open history books whose pages are tablets of stone. Historians consult cemetery records to confirm past events. Sometimes there is no other recorded information about an area except what can be found in cemeteries. Historic cemeteries are being threatened by urban sprawl, vandalism, theft, and neglect. Some monuments are simple — a slab of wood or a carved piece of concrete with a name and dates scratched in. Others are elaborate sculptures. The picture to the right is what is left of a wooden marker found at Brucetown cemetery. |
Wooden Head Stone |
| Community participation in this preservation project has raised the awareness of all who have participated that cemeteries are truly a nonrenewable resource. Each provides us with clues about the people who settled an area, insights into our past, our beliefs, and our culture. |
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