Wiley B. Jones Cemetery Restoration
Made
possible through generous funding provided by Russ A. Pritchard
Jr. and Trustees, Hobart Ames Foundation the Wiley B. Jones
Cemetery was restored in the fall of 1990. Prior to restoration,
the unfenced cemetery was part of a cattle pasture and was
therefore subjected to potential livestock damage. During the
1950's the two gravestones lay on the ground covering the
burials. The horizontal tablet stones had been dislodged from
their original location resting atop four-sided brick support
structures. Brick which had made up the support structures were
strewn across the cemetery site, most buried in the top six
inches of soil. Sometime during the 1950's or 60's the stones
were set in an upright position by placing one end in the ground
at the head of the grave. This was done by individuals concerned
that the gravestones would be broken by cattle or other hazards
while laying on the ground.
The
first step in the restoration of the cemetery was the removal of
the gravestones for cleaning and evaluation. This was followed
by the removal of several inches of soil from the grave sites to
reveal the intact foundation of the support structures. This
foundation was up to eight brick courses in depth. It was also
discovered that the foundation extended to the north of the two
graves, encompassing an area equal in size to that containing
the graves. It is thought that when the foundation and support
structures were constructed for the two horizontal table stones,
the foundation was extended to accommodate future gravestone
placement. If this was the reasoning behind the extended
foundation, there is no evidence that additional graves were
ever placed there.
After
the full extent of the subsurface foundation was established,
the next step in the restoration was the reconstruction of the
support structures utilizing brick recovered from the top six
inches of soil around the site. Stainless steel bars were
placed across the support structures in order to evenly
distribute the weight of the gravestones. Finally, the
gravestones were positioned atop the reconstructed supports.
Shovel
trench testing of the cemetery revealed the presence of one
unmarked grave. The grave was indicated by the presence of
subsurface brick arranged in parallel rows which curved to come
together at the one end. A soil stain resulting from the mixing
of yellow subsoil and a darker topsoil during the digging and
filling of the grave can be seen in the floor of the excavation
unit. The excavation was backfilled leaving the brickwork
undisturbed. A stone marker inscribed "unknown" was placed at
the gravesite. It is possible that this grave marks the burial
site of Thomas E. Jones, son of Wiley B. and Mary Jones, who
died in 1859.
Restoration of the Wiley B. Jones cemetery was completed with
the construction of a split rail fence to protect the site
.