How to Clean a Gravestone

Save These Dates:

Thursday, June 23, at 6:30 p.m. at New Ipswich Library: How to Clean A Gravestone

Have you ever wondered how to clean an ancestor’s or family member’s headstone without damaging it? Or perhaps, you’ve seen a blackened or lichen-laced stone in a local cemetery and thought of volunteering to clean it. If so, you are welcome to attend this free public program (in-person or via Zoom*) sponsored by the New Ipswich Historical Society. Kim Black will explain the proper methods for cleaning gravestones and the protocol for seeking permission to clean those belonging to non-family members. The presentation will include recent photographs of Carl Toko’s and Kim’s work on historic grave markers in New Ipswich’s oldest public cemetery on Porter Hill. *The link to the Zoom session is:

Saturday, June 25, at 9:00 a.m. at Central Cemetery in New Ipswich: How to Clean a Gravestone: A Hands-On Workshop

Join Kim Black and Carl Toko for a hands-on workshop in Central Cemetery, where they will clean the headstones in the Stearns’ family plot. Jesse Stearns and Lucinda Davis were the first of the Stearns family to live in New Ipswich during the late 1700s into the mid-1800s. Of the ten family gravestones being cleaned, the first burial occurred in 1850, with the last known burial in 1915. Additional names on one of the monuments are currently illegible. After the cleaning, who knows whether we may learn something new and exciting to add to the researched information? Additional information about those buried in the Stearns’ family plot is posted on the New Ipswich Historical Society website.

Meet Kim and Carl at the front gate of Central Cemetery at 9:00 a.m. Parking is available on the street adjacent to the cemetery. Appropriate clothing and footwear as well as bug spray are highly recommended.