Old gravestones to be restored to Quincy cemetery

Kara Chisholm

Fragments of gravestones found in the basement of the Quincy Historical Society will be restored as part of a restoration plan of over 200 gravestones in Hancock Cemetery.

By Jessica Bartlett, Boston.com Staff

The 10 grave markers in the basement of the Adams Academy have sat untouched for over 30 years, the large pieces of slate collecting dust in the Quincy Historical Societys home.

Yet with a plan to restore over 200 gravestones in the Hancock Cemetery, the basement artifacts will finally see the light of day.

We came in a little under budget with the contract were going to go with [for the cemetery restoration], said Kara Chisholm, assistant planner for the city. The remaining money will allow the city to add the basement artifacts to the project, though they werent part of the initial scope.

City planners have been working for months to solidify contractors for the grave site restoration, an endeavor prompted by a Massachusetts Historical Commission grant for $33,000.

A Community Preservation Committee grant for $80,000 will supplement the funding, bringing much needed restoration work to a cemetery believed to have been settled by the Europeans in the 1620s.

The contract award is still awaiting approval from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, but city planners have begun to prepare the additional basement gravestones to be added to the project.

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Old gravestones to be restored to Quincy cemetery