Narrated by
Larry Tippin
July, 2005
The
INITIAL ASSESSMENT
An initial condition assessment of this cemetery was
performed in February of 2005. We determined at that time that over 100 of the
approximately 250 tombstones in this cemetery were in need of attention, either
because they were broken, leaning or otherwise damaged. This count did not
include the stones that are in good condition, but needed to be cleaned.
This cemetery is now mowed and maintained. But this has not
always been the case. As we went about our work, several neighbors dropped in
to check out what we were doing. All were pleased the cemetery was being
restored. Several indicated that in times past the cemetery was not maintained
as well as it now is.
There are about 250 tombstones in this cemetery,
representing burials of about 275 of our early pioneers. There are likely
additional unmarked graves in this cemetery, representing the final resting
place for those known only to God.
After consulting with officers of the Palestine Cemetery
Association, we agreed to proceed with restoration of this cemetery.
RESTORATION
We began our restoration in mid-May by cutting the
overgrowth and sapling trees in various parts of the cemetery. After locating
and assessing the stones visible at that time, we decided to start by cleaning
and repairing about 15-20 broken tablet stones.
We then worked on cleaning the tombstones. We ended up
cleaning about 230 tombstones. Most of these tombstones were very thick with
lichen and considerable time was spent cleaning each one. Cleaning was done
only with approved methods, no abrasive materials were used. As such we were
able to restore most of these stones to near their original condition. There
were a number, however, that had the lichen growing so deep into the stones
that we were not able to get the stones “white” clean. But those few are
legible now and in pretty good condition. There are also several stones that
are so deteriorated that the inscriptions are difficult, if not impossible, to
make out even after a proper cleaning. Only a few modern stones did not need to
be cleaned.
We finished by resetting 5 or 6 large monolith stones. We
reset and leveled about 100 tablet stones. Many were leaning or had sunk down
into the ground. We raised the sunken stones to ground level and reset the
leaning stones as much as possible.
UNIQUE CONSIDERATIONS
The stone for Sarah J. Wilson was found lying face down
between the stones of Mary E. and an infant son, both children of Alexander and
Emily (Connett) Wilson. We’re not sure where they are buried, but this
Alexander Wilson was a son of Abel and Nancy (Holsapple) Wilson, who are buried
about three rows west and a little south of these stones. Sarah J. Wilson was
also a daughter of Abel and Nancy (Holsapple) Wilson, meaning she was the aunt
of Mary E. and the infant son Wilson who are buried near this stone. We could
not locate a base or actual burial location for this stone. But we feel she is
probably buried near here. We placed this stone in sand just north of the two
above mentioned stones. If someone comes forward in the future with the exact
burial location for Sarah J. Wilson, it would not be difficult to lift this
stone and reset it.
Many stones had previously been set in “wet” concrete. This
is NOT an approved method. Tablet type stones are intended to be set in one of
two ways.
Some are made long with the intention that about one-third
of the stone is to be set directly into the ground, leaving the inscription and
other information above ground level. We reset these properly by packing a sand
and gravel mix in the portion below ground level. This should keep the stones
standing level for many years to come, while at the same time allowing some
“give” below ground level if the stone is stressed due to natural leaning,
strong winds or other stress factors.
Other tablet stones are made so they are to be set in a
“slotted” base. For those, a slot is made in stone or poured concrete with the
slot being a few inches deep and just a little bit larger than the tombstone.
The stone is then set in the slot and affixed to the slot with approved materials.
The materials holding the stone in the slot are sturdy, but should break away
instead of the stone itself breaking. This allows the stone to “rock out” of
the slot if the stone is stressed. The stone can then be reset in the slot,
again using only approved materials.
There are several problems with placing a tombstone directly
into “wet” concrete. The concrete is always harder than the stone. This
virtually always results in the stone itself breaking if stressed. In fact,
many of the broken tablet stones we repaired were broken due to this very
reason. Had they been properly set, the stones would likely not have been
broken when they were stressed. Another problem with this method is that in
many cases no effort is made to repair a broken stone, which results in only
the top portion of a broken stone being set above ground level. There are many
stones in this cemetery that have the death date, age or other crucial
information set into the concrete, meaning this valuable information is lost
forever.
Read about
history of Palestine Church
View photos of restoration of the
01_Before
Restoration Looking East
03_Resetting
Perry and Mary Smith
04_After
Restoration Looking East
05_After
Restoration looking E mid north
06_After
Restoration looking E from sign
