[MassHistPres] Historic "abandoned" burial grounds

[Richard McGrath]

In Lunenburg, the Historical Commission, in a joint project, took the lead
in the research, discovery and restoration of the desecrated and missing
Arnold/Litch family's cemetery. It was desecrated by the developer of the
land in 1953 and is now in someones yard. The DPW maintains the town
cemeteries and took the initiative to bring in ground radar to locate the
burials. Town council determined that the town was responsible for the
cemeteries and their maintenance. The Goodrich cemetery plot, which is on a
plot with no ownership is maintained by the town DPW. The DPW found
unmarked burials with radar and the Historical Commission is restoring the
surrounding stonewall, putting in an iron entry gate and restoring the
vandalised grave stones with funding and oversight from the Cemetery
Commission.

Richard McGrath, Chair LHC

On Mon, Jun 2, 2025, 9:10 AM Betty Slade via MassHistPres <
masshistpres at cs.umb.edu> wrote:

> Which town entity has responsibility to protect historic but "abandoned"
> burial grounds?
>
> If a historic cemetery is on a lot that has no ownership, does the town
> have responsibility or authority to protect it from vandalism?
>
> Can the Local Historical Commission take responsibility?
>
> Betty Slade
> Westport
> CPC
>
>
>
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