A Graveyard Preservation Primer

Second Edition

Lynette Strangstad

A Graveyard Preservation Primer has proven itself to be a time-tested resource for those who are seeking information regarding the protection and preservation of historic graveyards. It was first written to help stewards of early burial grounds responsibly and effectively preserve their graveyards. Much information found in the first edition of the book remains valid today. Still, much has changed in the twenty-five years since its first publication, and the new edition reflects these changes.

Attitudes and the understanding of historic graveyards as an important cultural resource have grown and developed over the years. Likewise, changes in treatments have also taken place.
Perhaps the most dramatic change in burial ground preservation is in the world of technology. Changes in computers and the way we use them have also changed preservation practices in historic graveyards. Discussion of technological changes in the new edition includes those in mapping, surveying, photography, archaeology, and other areas of evaluation and planning.

Consideration is given, too, to maintenance and conservation treatments, including both traditional and newer treatments for stone, concrete, and metals. Metals were not discussed in the earlier editions, and protection and preservation of the landscape as it relates to graveyards is an expanded focus of this book.

The historic preservation of cemeteries and burial grounds is an aspect within the discipline of historic preservation that is unknown to many. Those whose responsibility is the care of these historic sites may be unfamiliar with appropriate approaches to such areas as documentation, planning, maintenance, and conservation. Unwitting personnel can do irreparable harm to these important cultural resources. The Primer is an effort to protect historic cultural resources by breaching the gap between maintenance staff, cemetery boards, friends’ groups, and graveyard preservation professionals by offering readily available, responsible information regarding graveyard protection and preservation. It is also designed to assist those who would undertake a preservation project in the reclaiming of a neglected or abandoned historic cemetery.

The book is generously illustrated with diagrams and photos illustrating procedures and gravemarker and graveyard forms, styles, and materials. The appendix section is completely updated and expanded, offering a worthwhile resource in itself.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / AASLH

Pages: 236 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7591-2241-3 • Hardback • August 2013 • $104.00 • (£80.00)

978-0-7591-2242-0 • Paperback • August 2013 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

978-0-7591-2243-7 • eBook • August 2013 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Series: American Association for State and Local History

Subjects: Architecture / Historic Preservation / General, Art / Museum and Historic Sites / Historic Sites and Houses

A Graveyard Preservation Primer

Second Edition

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

A Graveyard Preservation Primer has proven itself to be a time-tested resource for those who are seeking information regarding the protection and preservation of historic graveyards. It was first written to help stewards of early burial grounds responsibly and effectively preserve their graveyards. Much information found in the first edition of the book remains valid today. Still, much has changed in the twenty-five years since its first publication, and the new edition reflects these changes.

Attitudes and the understanding of historic graveyards as an important cultural resource have grown and developed over the years. Likewise, changes in treatments have also taken place.
Perhaps the most dramatic change in burial ground preservation is in the world of technology. Changes in computers and the way we use them have also changed preservation practices in historic graveyards. Discussion of technological changes in the new edition includes those in mapping, surveying, photography, archaeology, and other areas of evaluation and planning.

Consideration is given, too, to maintenance and conservation treatments, including both traditional and newer treatments for stone, concrete, and metals. Metals were not discussed in the earlier editions, and protection and preservation of the landscape as it relates to graveyards is an expanded focus of this book.

The historic preservation of cemeteries and burial grounds is an aspect within the discipline of historic preservation that is unknown to many. Those whose responsibility is the care of these historic sites may be unfamiliar with appropriate approaches to such areas as documentation, planning, maintenance, and conservation. Unwitting personnel can do irreparable harm to these important cultural resources. The Primer is an effort to protect historic cultural resources by breaching the gap between maintenance staff, cemetery boards, friends’ groups, and graveyard preservation professionals by offering readily available, responsible information regarding graveyard protection and preservation. It is also designed to assist those who would undertake a preservation project in the reclaiming of a neglected or abandoned historic cemetery.

The book is generously illustrated with diagrams and photos illustrating procedures and gravemarker and graveyard forms, styles, and materials. The appendix section is completely updated and expanded, offering a worthwhile resource in itself.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / AASLH

Pages: 236 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7591-2241-3 • Hardback • August 2013 • $104.00 • (£80.00)

978-0-7591-2242-0 • Paperback • August 2013 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

978-0-7591-2243-7 • eBook • August 2013 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Series: American Association for State and Local History

Subjects: Architecture / Historic Preservation / General, Art / Museum and Historic Sites / Historic Sites and Houses

Author

Trained through the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Restoration Workshop, Lynette Strangstad has specialized in graveyard preservation since 1980. She has served as conservator, burial ground consultant, preservation planner, and speaker at sites throughout the United States and is nationally known for her work in burial ground preservation.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Foreword
Preface

Chapter 1
Assessing the Problem
The Importance of Early Graveyards
A Few Definitions

Chapter 2
Organizational Concerns
Developing a Plan
Working with Volunteers
Public Awareness
Security
Graveyards as an Educational Tool
A Word about Funding

Chapter 3
Documentation and Research
Documenting the Graveyard
Research
Surveys
Site Management Plan
Mapping the Graveyard
Archaeology

Chapter 4
Conservation Issues
Safety Note
Cleaning and Maintaining the Site
Landscaping
Finding a Gravemarker Conservation Professional
Stone in Graveyards
Brick and Stone Box Tombs and Vaults
Metals

Chapter 5
A Question of Ethics
Observing Respect
Maintaining Historic Integrity
Gravestone Rubbing
Removal of Gravestones

Appendices
A. Sample Gravestone Rubbing Regulations
B. Sample Cemetery Survey Forms
C. S ample Individual Marker Assessment Form
D. Sample Vegetation Survey Form
E. Ironwork Assessment Worksheet
F. Sample Cemetery Legislation
G. Consultants, Conservators, and Carvers
Glossary
Sources of Additional Information
Index
About the Author

Reviews

Educators and enthusiasts interested in graveyards and graveyard preservation will appreciate this surprisingly comprehensive text. Strangstad makes a convincing case in her opening chapter on the historical, sociological, and artistic value in preserving these early cemeteries. Subsequent chapters offer extensive information and resources for preservation efforts, including organizational, ethical, and conversation issues.
— Omega - Journal of Death and Dying

An excellent tool for those working to restore and/or preserve cemeteries whether a small family project or a larger more involved project. This book should be considered a necessary reference guide for anyone contemplating a cemetery restoration project since many problems are addressed.

— Linda Kennedy

Lynette Strangstad's A Graveyard Preservation Primer set the standard for the field of cemetery studies twenty-five years ago. Her information about conservation techniques was essential for those of us who sought guidance in this new discipline. The second edition of the Primer provides material regarding preservation technologies that have been recently introduced, and also addresses the myriad new methods for documentation of historic burial sites. The development of GPS, computer programs and digital photography have advanced the accuracy and efficiency of survey and recordation -- and as usual, Strangstad leads the way in telling us how to do it.

— Sharyn Thompson, The Center for Historic Cemeteries Preservation

Anyone interested in the restoration and preservation of historic burial grounds will enthusiastically welcome this greatly expanded and updated edition of Lynette Stangstad's classic Primer – an indispensable resource in harmony with 21^st Century technology and scholarship.

— Richard Meyer, award-winning composer and conductor, Pasadena Arts Council Gold Crown Award for Performing Arts

A Graveyard Preservation Primer

Second Edition

Lynette Strangstad

A Graveyard Preservation Primer

Second Edition

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