A Busy Year Ahead—We have a pretty full schedule lined up for 2019 which includes our History Saturday in the Cemetery program, our Tuesday Evening Cemetery Strolls and our Memorial Day programs, along with our Meet the Pioneers Living History Tours. Each of these programs provides an opportunity to share the rich history of the cemetery and its residents with you.

In addition to the educational programs noted above, our volunteers will continue to help care for the cemetery grounds during our Community Clean-up Days and with smaller work parties in between. Marker Cleaning Workshops will resume in April along with monument restoration work.

A couple of big projects planned for this year include the total restoration of the grave site of Mary Teresa Agnes Hanna in the Catholic Section of the cemetery. Mary was the first wife of Judge Hiero Kennedy Hanna and died on November 9, 1871 at the age of thirty-six. The majority of the work will be accomplished by volunteers and funding for supplies, estimated at approximately $3,000, will be funded by the Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery. As you can see in the above photo, the grave site is in very poor condition and poses a safety concern.

Our other big project, and one that has been on our wish list for a number of years, is a Cemetery Kiosk. We received approval in January from the City and HARC to move forward with construction of a pavilion that will be placed next to the Interpretive Center. Once a concrete slab has been poured, construction of the pavilion can begin. Additional information on updates on this project will be included in future columns.

Please visit our website at friendsjvillecemetery.org for details on all our events and activities.

Featured image: Hanna Block, Jacksonville Historic Cemetery – Photo by John McGlothlin