WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
Members of a historic-preservation group are working to restore a Centreville property rich with local history.
A core team of women – members of the Amos Sturgis chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution – have taken a number of steps over the past five years toward much-needed improvements at the Old Centreville Cemetery.
The property holds 1,500 plots. DAR and other volunteers have identified 399 of those buried there.
Laura Telsworth, a DAR member, said the group has been cleaning weathered tombstones and repairing vandalized headstones, as time and finances allow. In addition, a team of volunteers – many not affiliated with the DAR – have helped maintain the property by mowing the lawn, and removing fallen sticks and limbs.
Talsworth said the group would eventually like to purchase a six-foot, wrought-iron fence to place around the perimeter of the property in hopes that it will add even the slightest amount of security while providing a nostalgic look.
The cemetery is a designated State of Michigan Historic Site.
Volunteers plan to meet this coming Saturday and attempt to straighten as many headstones as possible.
Donations toward helping preserve and maintain Old Centreville Cemetery can be made through treasurer Liz Campbell, 269-823-3893. More information about Amos Sturgis DAR and Old Centreville Cemetery can be found on Facebook.
