Published: May 16, 2008 09:05 pm      

LEWISTON: Saving history for tomorrow

Monumental restoration effort launched

Could Lewiston’s past help build its future? The Lewiston Council on the Arts and the Historical Association of Lewiston think so.

The organizations have partnered to officially launch a project to restore and preserve historic gravestones at Marble Orchard Cemetery in Lewiston, one of the oldest cemeteries in the county.

With funds secured through grants from the state, the Town of Lewiston and the Lewiston Garden Club, among other organizations, volunteers will maintain gravestones in the cemetery adjacent to Lewiston’s First Presbyterian Church, founded in 1817.

“It’s a big project but when we’re through with it,” said Pam Hauth of the Lewiston Historical Society, “we will have documentation of all the inscriptions on all the stones and photographs of each one so finally when they are no longer readable, we will have information on the people buried here.”

Gravestones date back as early as the 1810s, including veterans from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The partnered organizations already host walking tours through Marble Orchard highlighting the history and stories of the people buried there.

But some of the tombstones are tilted and about to topple while others are covered in grime that make the inscriptions unreadable.

Last year, the Lewiston Council on the Arts and the Historical Association of Lewiston brought in cemetery studies expert C.R. Jones to evaluate the possibility of restoring the cemetery’s pieces.

With his recommendations as guidance, the organizations are now bringing in volunteers to work on rehabilitate gravestones for public viewing. Organizers are also reaching out to descendants of families buried at the cemetery to gather more information for historical record.

Restoration efforts will be ongoing “forever” and the project is focusing on preserving the history represented within the cemetery as much as the stones themselves, said Eva Nicklas, director of the Lewiston Council on the Arts.

“This cemetery is filled with all kinds of history and artwork,” she said. “It’s a place where the average citizen can come and walk in the footsteps of their ancestors.”

Francine DelMonte was on hand for Friday’s launch announcement at Orchard Marble, along with Town Supervisor Fred Newlin and Village Mayor Richard Soluri, who offered support for the project.

“Restoring these headstones in this community will generate more economic activity because it will offer people another way to experience Lewiston,” DelMonte said.