Thomas A. Stevens
Cemetery Restorations
Why Restoration Matters
Cemetery restoration preserves our shared history, honoring the lives and legacies of those who came before us. These sacred spaces serve as enduring tributes to our ancestors, veterans, and community heritage. By maintaining and restoring them, we ensure future generations can connect with the past and pay their respects.
Serving the State of Maine
Maine is home to thousands of historic cemeteries, ranging from small family plots to larger association-owned sites, some dating back over 250 years. While many remain well-preserved tributes to our ancestors, others have fallen into neglect due to fading family ties, shrinking budgets, or lack of oversight.
State law now requires the maintenance of veterans’ memorials, with towns stepping in when families or associations cannot. These sacred sites deserve our care and respect as enduring symbols of those who came before us.
Thomas A. Stevens Cemetery Restorations is dedicated to revitalizing these historic landmarks, often at the request of community members. Together, we can ensure these cemeteries remain proud reflections of our shared heritage. If you notice a cemetery in need of attention, we encourage you to advocate for its restoration with local officials.
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Cemeteries Require Care, People, Money
By Janine Pineo
From the June issue of Maine Municipal Association’s Maine Townsman
Time is not kind to cemeteries. Coupled with the inexorable march of Maine’s four seasons, the ravages of time often are visible in some of the thousands of burial grounds across the state, which was first colonized in the early 1600s.
The coast and other land accessible by water bore the mark of early settlers who cleared forests into fields and farmland centuries ago, often situating a family cemetery plot somewhere on the property. As settlements, towns and cities were established over the decades, larger cemeteries were set up by municipalities and associations.
From an individual buried in a single plot to acres of land marked with thousands of gravesites, the care of those cemeteries today often falls into the hands of the municipality where it is located, creating a challenge to find a balance between the needs of the living and the responsibility to respect those who are buried within the town’s borders.
Maintaining a cemetery is part of the cost, but reclaiming grounds that have fallen under the advance of time and nature can create a tax burden, as many municipalities have learned when they take over a cemetery… Read Full Article
Cemeteries Require Care, People, Money
By Janine Pineo
From the June issue of Maine Municipal Association’s Maine Townsman
Time is not kind to cemeteries. Coupled with the inexorable march of Maine’s four seasons, the ravages of time often are visible in some of the thousands of burial grounds across the state, which was first colonized in the early 1600s.
The coast and other land accessible by water bore the mark of early settlers who cleared forests into fields and farmland centuries ago, often situating a family cemetery plot somewhere on the property. As settlements, towns and cities were established over the decades, larger cemeteries were set up by municipalities and associations.
From an individual buried in a single plot to acres of land marked with thousands of gravesites, the care of those cemeteries today often falls into the hands of the municipality where it is located, creating a challenge to find a balance between the needs of the living and the responsibility to respect those who are buried within the town’s borders.
Maintaining a cemetery is part of the cost, but reclaiming grounds that have fallen under the advance of time and nature can create a tax burden, as many municipalities have learned when they take over a cemetery… Read Full Article
Outline of Procedures
Resetting & Repair
Whenever possible, all monuments will be reset in the way that they were originally installed. Nowadays a monument is set on a concrete foundation that is four feet deep so the frost won’t move it. Most of the monuments that need to be reset don’t have foundations.
Slate tablets were usually set with 1/3 or more of the monument buried below ground. Over the years the frost lifts them out of the ground and causes them to lean. These monuments are set back into the ground to their proper depth and the fill that is put back around them is compacted.
Marble tablets were set either the same way as the slate tablets, or they were set into a granite or sandstone base just below the ground surface. This base has a slot cut into it that the marble tablets were set into. If the tablet is leaning, and is still intact in the base, we dig out on the side of the tablet that it is leaning towards. We then lift that side of the monument and shim it with enough flat stone to make it straight again.
If the tablet is loose in the base, we reset it back into the base in mortar after leveling and pressure washing it.
If the tablet is broken off at the base we either epoxy it back together or set it into a form that is roughly the same dimensions as the original base, and then fill it with concrete. If the base is split in half we would also set it into a new concrete base.
Marble and granite monuments with one or more bases that are leaning are straightened the same way as the marble tablets with bases. Most of these monuments originally had 2 iron pins that held them together. Over the years they rusted, and at the same time they expand which causes the marble monuments and or bases to split apart. When this occurs we epoxy them back together and fill the cracks or voids with white cement. Before any epoxying or filling with white cement occurs, the surfaces are pressure washed.
If a monument is broken, and enough of the pieces can be found, it is pressure washed and then pieced back together with epoxy. All cracks and voids are then filled with white cement to help prevent further deterioration.
If the lower half of a monument has deteriorated beyond repair I reset it so that as much of the original inscription as possible will remain.
Cleaning
Cleaning will be accomplished with the use of a pressure washer that generates 2500 p.s.i. at the nozzle tip. Only enough pressure required to remove the accumulated growth will be used. Marble monuments will be pressure washed and then have bleach applied to remove the stains caused by the fungus growth. Granite monuments will have a mild acid solution applied prior to pressure washing to aid in the removal of the fungus and to etch the unpolished surfaces. Slate monuments are cleaned the same way as the granite monuments. This method will remove the growth but it will discolor the slate. I am willing to discuss the options available.
Is your town on the list?
All of the communities on the list below have shown pride in their community by having their cemeteries restored to their original dignity.
Belmont, Pat Higgins
Boothbay,
Bradford, Carlene Oake
Bradley, Melissa Doane
Bremen, Anne Seifert
Brewer, Ken Hanscom
Brooks, Jane McLaughlin
Brunswick, Pamela Fogg
Buxton, Richard Atkinson
Caratunk, Neil Katz
Chelsea, Robert Drisko
Clinton, Earl Pratt
Crystal, Susan L. York
Cumberland, William Shane
Cushing, Chester Knowles
Damariscotta, Patti Whitten
Durham, Joseph Donovick
Dixfield, Charlotte Collins
Eddington, Pam Violette
Edgecomb, Donald Hutchins
Ellsworth, Timothy King
Exeter, Robert Wetzler
Fayette, Louise Simmons
Friendship, Sally Foster
Georgetown, Pam Kakalis
Greene, Stephen Eldridge
Harpswell, Christy Eiane
Harrison, Michael Thorne
Hartland, Wayne Libby
Hermon, Clinton Deschene
Holden, Larry Varisco
Howland, Glenna Armour
Island Falls, Cheryl McNally
Islesboro, Kathy Stoker
Leeds, Joyce Pratt
Lincoln, Ron Weatherbee
Lincolnville, Heather Bilodeau
Manchester, Arlene Lebel
Mattawamkeag,
Mechanic Falls, Roland Hemond
Minot, Constance Taker
Newcastle, Edmee Dejean
Newport, John Buckland
Nobleboro, George Dow
North Haven, Hist. Soc.
Northport, Barbara O’Leary
Norway, David Holt
Orland, Goodwin Ames
Orr’s Island, John Sylvester
Otisfield, Marianne Izzo-Morin
Owl’s Head, Nancy Colson
Paris, Sharon Jackson
Poland, Rose Aikman
Plymouth, Shirley Nelson
Prospect, Vera Dyer
Readfield, Gregory Gill
Richmond, Jay Robbins
Rome, Mike Proctor
Scarborough, Mike Shaw
Searsmont, Don Corcoran
Sebago, “Rosie” Kulow
Sedgwick, Judy Herrick
Sherman, Debra O’Roak
Sidney, Gloria, Ripley
Silver Ridge, Paul Bernier
Skowhegan, Randall Gray
Solon, Mary Lou Ridley
South Bristol, Ken Lincoln
So. Thomaston, Charles Hartman
Stockton Springs, Joseph Hayes
Sullivan, Harris McLean
Sumner, Cynthia Norton
Turner, Eva Leavitt
Union, Myrna Soule
Waltham, Diann Jordan
Washington, Donald Grinnell
West Bath, Elaine Lemont
West Paris, Bill Keich
Wiscasset, Woody Freeman
Schedule a Free Consulation
Honoring your loved ones with a timeless memorial is our privilege. Let’s discuss your vision and how we can create a meaningful tribute that reflects their life and legacy. Schedule your free, no-obligation consultation today—we’re here to guide you every step of the way.