Monument replacement marks restoration first for historical cemetery
More than a decade after a wave of vandalism hit the Oak Grove Cemetery, the first step was taken to restore damaged stones to their original glory.
Friday morning, several cemetery board members gathered at the 15-acre burial ground along West Main Street as a massive crane was brought in to replace one of the monument spires knocked over long ago.
“This is a major step; something the cemetery board is really thrilled about,” said Janet Marker, a member of the cemetery’s new board of directors. “We’re hoping this is the beginning of being able to get the cemetery back together again. It’ll make a big difference.”
Uniontown native Dave Ewing said he came upon the 15-foot spire when he was in town several years ago and working to remove the over-abundant weeds. Buried under a decade’s worth of ivy was the large, two-ton stone pillar that once sat upon a seven- to eight-foot base nearby set to commemorate the Dawson family.
Ewing arranged for a friend of his to provide a crane, operated by Larry Shaw and Jim Steinmiller from Superior Roofing, to raise and reset the colossal pillar.
With Steinmiller at the control helm with a steady hand and Shaw at the base of the pillar, guiding it to its resting place, the team went through several foiled attempts. After about an hour though, they finally raised the 2,000-pound spire to once again rest on its granite base.
Marker said they believe the vandals had some sort of truck and ropes to pull the spire down all those years ago.
“I don’t think they ever caught the people who did this,” she said.
Ewing, who has more than two dozen of his relatives — including Fayette County’s first judge, Nathaniel Ewing — buried in the historic cemetery, said he wants to be laid to rest there some day.
“Everybody who was anybody in Fayette County was buried there,” said Ewing. Marker added that the cemetery was incorporated in 1847 and first used for burial in 1862. Now, nearly 9,000 Fayette Countians are buried on the rolling grounds.
Because of Ewing’s strong ancestral ties and pride in the cemetery, he decided to work with locals to form a new board, as the previous board of directors had since passed away.
“It had fallen into a state of neglect,” said Marker. Though they started maintenance work in 2011, this is the first opportunity they’ve had to complete a restoration.
Marker said it’s “terribly expensive” to arrange for the heavy stones to be replaced or restored, but they’re working on raising funds to do so. Right now, their fund goes toward general maintenance and grass cutting.
Marker said it was Ewing’s insistence and contributions that made this opportunity possible.
“Maybe if people see that this has been done, there would be others interested in finding family members who would contribute to having their family stone put up,” Marker said.
“A lot of families buried here are centuries old and have long died off. Or the newer generations moved away. There are a lot of folks who don’t know, or care, about their ancestors,” she continued.
With more than 200 stones displaced either by ground shifting or vandalism, the board has their work cut out for them, but Ewing and Marker said they are hopeful that families will have a renewed interest in their heritage and offer assistance.