By Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
Caring for the Winchester Cemetery is a labor of love for Patsy Roberts, a self-proclaimed history lover. She and her grandsons, Zachary and Zane Roberts, visit the cemetery twice weekly to restore stones and care for the grounds.
The original Winchester Cemetery started on a one-acre lot, with burials beginning in the 1820s. The original plot had about 400 marked graves. By the early 1870s, the original property was nearly gone. The Village and Township started purchasing tracts of land to use for burials.
The cemetery folklore includes the crypt that was built in the 1800s. The vault was used to store and keep bodies cold in warmer months or winter when the ground was frozen, and they could not dig graves. The story goes that a few bodies were forgotten over the years, and they are still trying to get out.
The cemetery also includes a statue that reportedly cries “real” tears. Children are buried in a circle around the statue, and a baby’s grave is in the middle. Legend says the children will call your name as you approach the figure.
The Winchester Cemetery holds about 200 military graves from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, War with Mexico of 1821, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. George Harper was the first soldier to die and be buried in 1825. William Harper was the first marked grave in 1833. In 1879, the government started a program to give veterans grave markers.
The restoration and repairs are slow, requiring loads of digging and specialized adhesive to hold pieces together. Occasionally they must call in the “big guns” to dig out the stones. Roberts reports that they started the process during the Winchester Bicentennial in 2015. As they were touring the old portion of the cemetery, they noted how grown over, and in distress it was. Roberts said several individuals, including her sister, Joyce Porter, started cleaning up and making repairs. Three years ago, they started having a fundraiser, and they were able to have the Peebles Monument Company come and do some of the repairs. Zachary and Zane have also been hired to work on the stones’ digging, repairs, and upkeep. Many of the monuments have been broken or sunk into the ground. Zachary has used plenty of muscle to dig out the ones that descended deep into the ground. Roberts volunteers her time and talents to the process.
Many of the stones were covered with moss and unable to read. Roberts purchased a specialized spray that keeps the stones clean. Holsinger’s Monuments have provided some rustic stones where needed. Multiple stones are broken, and Roberts and her grandsons have tirelessly been piecing them back together. Roberts watches YouTube videos to get ideas for cemetery refurbishment. Zachary said, “When you have one split in two, you can pretty easily get it back together, but when it’s in several different pieces, it’s difficult.”
Roberts also spearheads the Winchester Homecoming Festival each year and leads a ghost tour based on folks buried in the cemetery. Roberts said, “I like history.” She’s the one who approached the Cemetery Board to inquire about the restoration.
With all their digging, the Roberts’ have never hit a casket. Roberts explained that most coffins were made of wood, rotted, and sunk far into the ground. Roberts smiled and said, “If that happens, I’m done.”
Roberts showed this reporter around the cemetery and took us to the ancient crypt, probably built around 1850. It’s now welded shut due to some trespassers last year, but Roberts had been inside before its sealing. She said, “I went in, but it’s creepy.”
Roberts took photos when they first began the project in 2015. She wanted to remember the condition of the cemetery before they started the renovations and be able to share with people who might want to assist. She said, “Now people can come out here and see what we are doing.” Hopefully, others will follow in Roberts’ footsteps with the same level of care and repair to the historical graves. Roberts knows the toil it takes and said, “We’ve come a long way.”