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INDIANA PIONEER CEMETERIES RESTORATION PROJECT

 

  INPCRP LOGO

 

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inpcrp/

The state of Indiana is home to thousands of abandoned or neglected pioneer cemeteries, the oldest of which now approach 200 years.   The goal of this project is to identify, protect, restore and preserve as many of these cemeteries as possible. This project was founded on the belief that we owe our pioneer ancestors a better monument than a forgotten grave amid bramble and thicket. 

The Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project was begun in October 1997 as an effort to generate public awareness about  the neglected pioneer cemeteries of Indiana.  Many volunteers have join this effort. 

A stone carver at work. 

   HOW TO FIND A CEMETERY LISTING OR BURIAL LIST 

Restoration Information Links. Read about the restoration process Legislation affecting Indiana's Pioneer Cemeteries
Cemetery Restoration Toolbox Find a Indiana County Coordinator Or Commission

Indiana laws pertaining to cemeteries & Government

 

 Links to Other Sites Relating to Cemeteries and history

2007- 2009 Stories in the news

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For really great education on cemetery restoration, attend a restoration workshops sponsored twice each year by the   Ind. Historical Society  and the Department of Natural Resources.  The price is right and your time is well spent.  The beginning workshop is required before you  may take the advanced workshop in the fall.   

Cemetery Preservation (Advanced)  Aug. 22 or 23
 

Cost: $30, $25 IHS members, $22.50 Local History Partners (includes lunch)
To Register: Contact Local History Services at (317) 233-8913. Register by Aug. 10

Join us on either Saturday or Sunday for a one-day, hands-on workshop to learn advanced cemetery restoration techniques.


Saturday, August 22, 2009

Assembling the Pieces of History: Advanced Cemetery Preservation Workshop
Date: August 22 OR 23
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: Spring Valley Cemetery, 56th Street and Post Road, Indianapolis
Cost: $30/$25 IHS members

This one-day workshop (registrants can choose one of the two available dates) will focus on advanced cemetery restoration techniques. Topics covered will include fixing simple stone breaks, resetting obelisks, determining the original location of a stone once it’s been moved and how to mix stone dust to fill in cracks. Most of the workshop will be spent in the cemetery, where participants will gain valuable hands-on experience repairing stones. Participants must have prior cemetery preservation experience to attend. To register, or for more information, call the Indiana Historical Society at (317) 233-3110.
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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Assembling the Pieces of History: Advanced Cemetery Preservation Workshop
Date: August 22 OR 23
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: Spring Valley Cemetery, 56th Street and Post Road, Indianapolis
Cost: $30/$25 IHS members

This one-day workshop (registrants can choose one of the two available dates) will focus on advanced cemetery restoration techniques. Topics covered will include fixing simple stone breaks, resetting obelisks, determining the original location of a stone once it’s been moved and how to mix stone dust to fill in cracks. Most of the workshop will be spent in the cemetery, where participants will gain valuable hands-on experience repairing stones. Participants must have prior cemetery preservation experience to attend. To register, or for more information, call the Indiana Historical Society at (317) 233-3110.

Chicora Foundation, Inc. Cemetery Preservation Workshop
 September 15-16, 2009, South Bend, Indiana

 Click here to view photos of 9-8 2007 from the workshop at White Chapel Cemetery in Carmel.

Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm and attendance.  Remember to share what you have learned in the restoration process. It was good to meet you Jeff Harris and Catherine too.  Thank you for all you do for these workshops.   Fell free to ask more questions on the email list that is linked below. 

I enjoyed meeting everyone today.  L.A. Clugh

There is also workshops and videos on Cleaning and Resetting monuments by the
  Nation Center for Preservation and Technology and Training. Click the links at the top left.

 

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INPCRP Mailing List

Anyone interested in the plight of abandoned and neglected  pioneer cemeteries is  encouraged to join this e-mail group. This list is for discussion of topics concerning cemetery preservation.  There is NO COST to participate, but you must "subscribe" in order to post a message to the group .  We presently have more than 150 INPCRP group members.   We hope you will join us too.  Further details on Rootsweb e-mail lists is available at this link.  Don't forget to change your email address to if you switch providers. Please don't post genealogical queries to the group.  

Search the Archive of Messages for INPCRP Mailing List 
 [type in INPCRP in the box first, then put in your word to search]

Beginners Email Help

  

INPCRP Objectives

Public awareness:  To make this project a success it will be necessary to involve as much of the general public as possible.  Local media cooperation will be sought to help "spread the word".  The more people who know about this project, the more volunteer researchers and custodians we will have.  This will also help encourage the cooperation of local land owners when their property must be crossed to gain access to a remote cemetery. 

Record creation:  Most of these old cemeteries have no known plat records available.  One of the top priorities is to research those records if they exists, or create a plat record when possible.  All available plat records will then be posted to this web site as well as submitted to the local library. 

Site Restoration:  These cemeteries are in various states of neglect and decay.  Through volunteer effort, each cemetery will be cleared of debris and weeds, depressions filled, and toppled markers returned to an upright position.  With expert volunteers it may be possible to repair some of the broken or vandalized monuments.  Restoration volunteers can be individuals, families, or groups, or churches and other organizations such as Boy/Girl Scouts. Workshops are available to help everyone interested in learning skills.

Site Preservation: After a cemetery has been restored, project volunteers should continue to monitor to guard against further deterioration or vandalism. Efforts need to continue to educate others. 

 

 

Education is the key.  Think about attending  workshops. 

Many experienced cemetery preservationists understand that someone with little or no experience in this field of work can do more harm than good. Even a well funded project without the proper planning can do irreversible damage to the historical integrity of the burial ground. 

While the person that is untrained may have the best of intentions and you do not want to discourage them in their efforts, more often than not they can cause additional damage and problems that need to be addressed. Saving Graves highly recommends that you attempt to schedule at least one training workshop for your volunteers prior to starting the project.

Training workshops for volunteers can help keep costs down and as much work in-house as possible. Workshops (or one extended workshop) can train volunteers in skills necessary for such tasks as mapping, documentation, surveying, photographing markers, site maintenance, stone resetting, and stone cleaning.   A training workshop gives individuals the opportunity to gain experience in identifying problems they may encounter and hands on experience in arriving at correct solutions. 

Sometimes the most valuable lesson is a clear understanding of what is best left to experienced professionals. There are many experienced professionals that are willing to meet with your group and provide training or pass along their knowledge and expertise in the cemetery preservation and restoration fields.

 

Thanks to John "Walt" Walters for providing this information.

 

A Graveyard Preservation Primer                  by Lynette Strangstad  "Written for non-professional and professional preservationists involved in small to mid-size graveyard preservation projects, this basic primer explains in step-by-step fashion how to preserve and restore a graveyard. After reading the suggestions outlined in this book, you will be able to plan a well organized preservation project. In this way the common mistakes and waste of resources that characterize many well-intentioned graveyard preservation efforts can be avoided.  Restoration is discussed with recommendations as to what lay people should and should not undertake."  144 pages with index and illustrations.  $21.20 for AGS members; $23.70 for non-members, plus $3.50-$5 shipping and handling. 

Landscapes of Memories: A Guide for Conserving Historic Cemeteries 
The Heritage Properties and Museum Programs Unit of the Cultural Programs Branch, Province of Ontario, has released their excellent guide book,. The guide has been written by specialists in masonry conservation, and provides technical information on common tombstone repairs, as well as general information about grave markers and their construction.   Copies are available at a cost of $20.00 each and can be purchased from Publications Ontario, 1-800-668-9938 (available for calls within Ontario); or (416) 326-5300.  Website 

Hands: If the hand is pointed up, with the index finger pointed up, this is the Sign of Preservation, also called the Sign of Heaven 
and Earth, and means  whatever came from Heaven must also return. If the hands are clasped, it is a farewell to marriage. If the
 hands are praying, it is a plea for eternal life. If the hand is upturned and has the index and middle finger pointing up, this is called
 the Sign of Blessing, or the Christogram, and it brings blessings to those left behind.

Tombstone symbols found on Tombstones

Iconography Fraternal Symbols 
Motifs and Mourning Images Reading Hebrew tombstones
Symbols   [pdf] UK  Tombstone Art
Tombstone Latin  Other links to consider

 

State laws that govern archaeology, and will impact cemetery preservation, will change in July.  To learn more about the event, contact the Jeannie Regan-Dinius, Cemetery and Burial Ground  Registry Coordinator for the DHPA,  News article 6-2008

 Jeannie Regan-Dinius
Cemetery Registry Coordinator
DNR-DHPA
402 West Washington Street, W274
Indianapolis, IN  46204
317-234-1268

 The Indiana Code has been updated to reflect changes made by the 2007
 General Assembly and HEA 1010 from the 2008 Session of the General Assembly.

 

Anyone wanting a t-shirt from Cafepress, click here.

 

A note about this project:   This project is an independent project started by Scott Satterthwaite.  It is not affiliated with the US Gen Web or any other existing project.  Many Indiana counties currently have active associations or groups that are fulfilling the goals of this project.  Many more have nothing at all in place.  We would like the INPCRP to become a way to centralize and coordinate these existing efforts and to launch new ones.  Of course, participation is voluntary, and it is our desire that nobody feels obligated to volunteer.  

Do not copy or redistribute this information without citing this web site as it's source.  If you have any suggestions on ways to improve this site, better ways to handle any aspect of this project, or would like to adopt a county, please send us an email.

This page is maintained by  L. A. CLUGH State Coordinator 

         

Our thanks to Rootsweb for sponsoring these WebPages. 

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Thanks for your concern for saving Indiana's endangered pioneer cemeteries.
  Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project © 2005-2008 

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inpcrp/