CHARLESTOWN, Ind. — Charlestown Cemetery opened in 1825, seventeen years after Charlestown was founded on the Ohio River.
Several Civil War and World War One veterans are laid to rest there. Over the last few months, the graveyard's holding building has seen major repairs to the roof and wooden door, but it needs more.
"This up here was broken away too," said Bill Crace, one of the board members at the Charlestown Cemetery Association.
It once held bodies waiting to be buried during the winter time when the ground was frozen.
Crace and other Charlestown Cemetery Association board members are trying to preserve it's history, but they need help funding the repairs.
"To save a historic building, that's what we want to do; this cemetery would not be the same if we just see this building gone," he said.
So far, the association has been approved for a $10,000 grant from the Redevelopment Commission.
Repairs are estimated to cost between $15,000 and $20,000.
"Before we did this, it was all broken up here, and you could see the brick up underneath here was loose, and mortar joints were open," Crace said.
Donations can be made to Charlestown Cemetery Association at P.O. Box 429 Charlestown, Indiana 47111.
Don Barton's parents are buried in the cemetery, and he's pleased with the way the Cemetery Association keeps it up.
"Oh, it's great; I'm glad that they're doing it I mean it's something we need to maintain," he said.
Barton said it's important to respect the graveyard.
"It's great to be able to come over here; I don't live too far and it's great to come over and visit their grave occasionally, my wife does a good job maintaining the flowers and all that," said Barton.
Now he hopes others will donate to the repair funding.
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