The Burying Ground opened in 1801 and contains the final resting places of Revolutionary War soldiers, city founders, pioneers who never planned to stay here and others. The project began in the mid-2010s, and the most recent construction took six months.
“We’re very pleased. A number of people have helped in putting this together, and we hope the public will like it,” said Tom Loftis, the president/coordinator of the Springfield Burying Ground Restoration Committee.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
A grand opening event originally scheduled for this month has been postponed to the Saturday before Memorial Day. Some grounds keeping issues came up with grass being replanted as part of the decision to delay.
Visitors are still welcome and will also encounter an unusual sight – a large plywood box. Inside is an eight-foot statue of Springfield founder James Demint created by artist Mike Major of Urbana. Loftis said the decision is to keep the statue preserved from the harsh winter weather until the dedication.
>> Read Tom Stafford’s column on the Burial Ground restoration
The estimated $1.1 million restoration project was funded by contributions and individual donations according to Loftis. The committee is looking to raise funds for an endowment to preserve and do upkeep on the site in the future.
The area was also known for some time as the Columbia Street Cemetery, but considering there was no Columbia Street when the site was founded, the original name was opted going forward, Loftis said.
Local historian Kevin Rose said the refurbished grounds are a place the community and visitors can appreciate on a new level, even if they’ve driven past the site for years without giving it a second thought.
“It’s crazy to think of this as a new addition. It’s actually a place that has been underappreciated for 220 years and to see it have new life is a vital feature for our urban core, a spot for reflection and contemplation,” he said.
Rose said the number of people interred at the Burial Ground is undetermined. The last official burial was in 1863. It was neglected for a long time and proper records weren’t kept; the tombstones were the only known record in some cases.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
While the founders and veterans are noteworthy, other lives were also significant. An interesting discovery during the renovation: Buried below the ground was the tombstone of a woman named Elizabeth Jewett, who died in 1826. Nothing else is known of her, but her memory is preserved.
“There were people like a woman who joined her family on a wagon ride to another location looking for a new opportunity. Every one is a pioneer and remarkable, and that sense of being in the spot pioneers are buried is special,” Rose said.
He confirmed that no bodies were moved or touched during the renovation. A specialist came in to make sure these were not disturbed by doing soil testing that determined where they were. He added that unlike today, sometimes individuals would be buried in just a sheet, sometimes even on the same day they passed.
The veterans’ stones are marked accordingly, including that of Elijah Beardsley, who was at the Boston Tea Party. Two others here were at Valley Forge, Pa., another historical location during the Revolutionary War. Rose said it’s important to remember none of the Revolutionary War veterans was from Springfield as the war was fought long before Ohio even existed.
“Each of these veterans has his own story that we’ll never know,” he said.
Rose said even the Burying Ground’s oak trees are significant as they predate the city, and it is unusual to have many trees in cities as most were taken out during developments.
Loftis requests anyone who visits the Burying Ground be respectful by not leaving trash, closing the gate and treating it properly.
Although this phase is finished, Rose anticipates the project to continue in the future, where perhaps other gravestones will be unearthed among the efforts.
“We need to continue to care, improve and beautify it, which will be a generational project,” he said. “It will be here when my great, great grandchildren are here to love and care for.”
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