Cemetery restoration largely completed

Two years after extensive damage to the historic Capitol Hill Cemetery, most of the vandalism has been repaired, and the man who’s doing the work plans to return this spring and finish it. 

On April 1, 2022, police and two of the volunteers who had spent years working to preserve Cambridge City’s earliest public cemetery walked through a scene of chaotic destruction in what could only be called stunned disbelief. Tombstones and memorials, some weighing several hundred pounds, had been smashed, toppled and thrown around as if by an earthquake. 

In the 24 months since then, donations that had been made for restoration — both before and after the destruction — have been spent, according to Cambridge City officials. The restoration expert who has been repairing the damage says he will not be submitting any more bills, despite working beyond what was in his original estimates.

The Town of Cambridge City is responsible for the cemetery. A volunteer group called Restoration in Peace had worked for years at restoring Capitol Hill’s old tombstones and raising funds for upkeep. That group had been affiliated with Western Wayne Heritage, a nonprofit group focused on historic building preservation. After the damage, Western Wayne Heritage turned about $20,000 of funds earmarked for the cemetery over to the town, including $1,000 raised by Cub Scouts of Pack 6. American Legion Post 169 donated another $7,000.

The town hired Casey Winningham, a cemetery restoration specialist from the Bloomington area, to repair the damage. Over the summer of 2023, the slow and meticulous work of gathering up pieces of destroyed monuments and putting them back together continued. The town erected a metal gate across the cemetery entrance lane off the south end of Lee Street in Cambridge City.

“All of the (Capitol Hill Cemetery) funds have been used,” said Sherry Ervin, Cambridge City’s clerk-treasurer. The town paid $26,992.04 to Winningham and another $380.51 for the gate.

At the cemetery, most of the damaged monuments have been put back together. Winningham said about 95% of the work is done. One large stone in particular will get his attention this summer: He said it is “Frankensteined together” currently with pieces of limestone awaiting better restoration. Some other tombstones have small stone fragments gathered into wooden frames at their base, awaiting his work.

Winningham said he hopes the town will be able to put up some kind of monitored motion detection system. The vandalism that took place in 2022 probably took more than one person working several hours to accomplish, he said. If a motion detector had been in place, police could have been alerted and responded. 

The town’s plan is to continue cemetery improvements as money is donated, said Ken Risch, public works superintendent. Donations can be made through the Town Clerk’s office at the City Building, 127 N. Foote St.

No arrests have been made in the case. A private reward program is still seeking tips. The Cambridge City Police Department is still treating it as an active case, Police Chief Richard Roberts said. Two years ago, police had speculated that the damage could have been done several days before being discovered.