Old Burial Hill Restoration Project Moves Forward

A local commission's effort to repair hundreds of at took another step forward Wednesday afternoon. 

Members of the Old Burial Hill Oversight Committee reviewed bids sent in from three New England companies offering to repair the cemetery's "priority one" headstones.

Earlier this year, the committee hired Building and Monument Conservation, an Arlington-based company, to go through the cemetery stone-by-stone, photographing grave markers and creating a much-needed map of the 991 objects that populate it.

What the company found was that approximately 20 percent of the cemetery's headstones are in need of repair or some form of preventative maintenance. In order to identify the markers that need the most attention, the graves were broken into sub-groups: 31 "priority one" markers are in need of urgent care; 42 were designated as less urgent; and 119 need to be maintained to prevent problems in the future. 

The extensive restoration project will also require the removal of nearby trees and shrubs and the repair of an old stone walkway leading visitors into the cemetery from the street.

At their meeting Wednesday afternoon, committee members opted to send the bids they received to Building and Monument Conservation owner Ivan Myjer, who has been serving as their project consultant.

Bids were received from Gravestone Services of New England, of Bedford, N.H.; Sculpture and Decorative Contracting Services, of Somerville; and CSI Contracting Specialists, of Attleboro.