Historic Winchester cemetery receives fence

By BILL RICHMOND

City editor

The first phase of a project to fence in the Old Winchester Graveyard was completed last week. The north side of the cemetery was outlined by a wrought iron fence, the remaining three sides will be fenced in phases.

"State law says abandoned cemeteries have to be fenced-in," said Winchester Graveyard Restoration Committee Co-chairperson Sharon Smith. "The fencing and mowing of of these cemeteries is the responsibility of the township trustee. White River Township Trustee Elaine Love has been very helpful in making sure it was in her budget to have an authentic looking fence put up."

Smith said Love will continue to set aside money from her budget until the project is completed. She said Love's dedication to the project has been vital.

"That is way more than our committee could raise," Smith said. "It's all we can do to keep up with the restoration process."

She said when the restoration is completed, 150 gravestones will have been cleaned and restored. Currently, there are 40-50 stones yet to be salvaged.

"The grave markers that remain are the most damaged," Smith said. "We may find some of them just can't be restored. We certainly hope that won't be the case."

The cemetery will also receive 10 new stones for soldiers buried there. Eight veterans of the Civil War and two War of 1812 soldiers are interred at the historic graveyard. The new gravestones are due to be received sometime in the next month and will be placed at the cemetery sometime thereafter.

"Next spring we will have a rededication of the cemetery," Smith said. "It will be a big community event. I am working out the details now."

She said the cemetery restoration committee is continuing its ongoing Adopt a Pioneer program to raise money to salvage the cemetery. Through this program, a donation of $150-200 (the cost to restore one grave marker) an individual can "adopt" the pioneer whose memory is represented by that marker. Participants are welcome to research their adopted pioneer at the county Historical Museum. Donations to this program are tax deductible.

The Old Winchester (Heaston) Cemetery, on Western Ave., behind the Winchester Armory, is the final resting place of more than 200 of the community's earliest residents. Established in 1844, it is a historic cemetery listed in Indiana's Cemetery and Burial Grounds Registry of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The cemetery served as Winchester's only burial grounds until Fountain Park Cemetery was opened in 1880.

The Winchester Graveyard restoration is a project of the Randolph County Historical Society. To contact the Randolph County Historical Society, call (765) 584-1334.