"Shaker Heights Receives 2023 Certified Local Government Grant for Warrensville West Cemetery"

 

Excerpt:

"The City of Shaker Heights has been awarded a 2023 Certified Local Government grant for gravestone restoration at Warrensville West Cemetery. 

The grant program is administered by the State Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio History Connection.

"More information about the cemetery, the Historic Preservation Mast Plan and educational opportunities can be found at shakeronline.com/cemetery."

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Warrensville West Cemetery

Historic Preservation Master Plan, which is a 295 page document completed March 14, 2022. 

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Warrensville West Cemetery on Find a Grave

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Atlas Preservation will once again be holding its "48 State Tour" conducting hands-on cemetery preservation workshops during 2024 - free to the public!

Atlas Preservation has just announced they will once again be holding a state-by-state tour of cemetery preservation workshops in 2024.  

Here is a link to their first post about the upcoming tour program. 

"All events are 100% free to the public!"

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"We’re looking for 2024 hosts!
Email us with your location details"
48states48days@gmail.com

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The "48 State Tour" has its own Facebook Page!

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Atlas Preservation on Youtube!

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"Please join us. Watch, listen, learn, or help & we look forward to seeing you in your home state along our journey."

Click here to check out the FAQ page for a general overview of a what a workshop looks like!"

Re-visiting some online Ohio W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps (AKA Veterans Graves Registration) and analyzing their format from one county to the next.

Sharing some examples of various arrangements of W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps posted online from a sampling of Ohio Counties.:

Belmont County's W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps.:

https://www.belcogis.com/DataDownloads/WPA%20Cemetery%20Plat%20Book.pdf

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Coshocton County's W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps.: 

Cemeteries – GIS and Tax Map Office

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Hamilton County Recorder's Office W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps.:

Hamilton County Recorder's Office | Cemetery Locations

Hamilton County Recorder's Office | Cem...

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Knox County W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps - a direct link after taking a few "clicks" in the appropriate categories on the website of the Tax Map & G.I.S. Department to arrive at this link below with the maps in .pdf format.).:

https://co.knox.oh.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Cemetery-Maps.pdf

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Union County Records Center and Archives - named as Veterans Grave Maps which are the same as the W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps.:

Union County, Ohio - Veterans Grave Maps (1820-1939)

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Williams County W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps (AKA Veterans Graves Registration) & History.:

The first link is for Williams County Veterans Graves Registration & History.  

 Veteran’s Graves Registration | Williams County, OH

Veteran’s Graves Registration | William...

ALSO: 

Brian Fritsch – G.I.S. Department: Story Maps.:

Copyright 2022. Williams County Engineer's Office. 

Address: 12953 County Road G Bryan, Ohio 43506

Phone Number 419-636-2454 Extension 2121

Contact Person: Brian Fritsch bfritsch@wmscoengineer.com

Williams County Veteran's Grave Locations

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Williams County Veteran's Grave Locations

Williams County Veteran's Grave Locations

Dashboard:

ArcGIS Dashboards

                                                                                                   Hub:

Veteran Grave Locations

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Originally in Ohio when these maps were created which was during the years of the Great Depression when the W.P.A. program was operational, one copy of the maps was placed at the Recorder's office for safe keeping.  

As we know now these maps, that are mostly found in hardbound books in a large size, need to be properly scanned and saved in a format such as .PDF; which I'm finding is quite often used.  

After the scanning is done, the images of the map pages are saved and offered to the public online in one format or another which varies from county to county.  

If these cemetery plat maps end up in a county archives or even at a county library then the possibility goes down, unforunately, that they will be posted online for the public's use.  

Thus, the Tax Map and the G.I.S. Departments more recently are the ones that offer these types of maps than an Engineer's Department. 

I'm learning that the most likely places in the county government that make sense to post them is right on their own websites if they have the resources available for them to do so (staffing and funding problems are often cited as reasons that hamper getting the job done), however, it may take some instructions for which categories are needed to access first (could be more than one) for a researcher to "work their way through" using their website in order to actually find them.

The Veterans Graves Registration / W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps  posted online are now I'm finding mostly at Tax Map / G.I.S. departments and in various formats (mostly saved as .PDF documents) ranging from a simple single PDF document containing all of the county's cemetery map pages to the more complex format presentations such as those offered by Williams County.  

So it is that we find that Ohio's counties are not following one set format for how these cemetery plat maps are arranged and presented on their websites.  However, a researcher can learn to adapt from one county to another if there are good instructions provided on the website that helps them navigate to the right place to bring up the map images to view and save them. 

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Spotlighting the Warren County Genealogical Society - a Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society (O.G.S.) - and their well-attended 2023 Cemetery Restoration Workshop - photographs and a link to the handbook produced from the workshop.

The Warren County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society was quite busy with their cemetery restoration workshop that was held in September, 2023. 

Stunning photographs and highlights of the cemetery restoration workshop are also offered on the website of the Warren County Chapter of O.G.S. 

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The chapter also produced an outstanding 255 page workshop handbook  of the 2023 cemetery restoration work that is for sale!

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"Crosson Cemetery, Harlan Township."

"This book was created to help researchers interested in cemetery preservation and those responsible for cemetery maintenance.  Topics include basic restoration techniques, cemetery maintenance, mapping a cemetery, finding unmarked graves, mortar mixes, tombstone cleaning, tablet straightening, repairing breaks, resetting stones and obelisks, and Ohio Cemetery laws.
**Completely updated again for 2023.  Includes handouts from Ta Mara Conde, Conservator from Historic Gravestone Services, and information about Crosson Cemetery - 255 Pages."
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For further reference.:
The Crosson Cemetery on Find a Grave. 

Spotlighting a "Bryan Times" Veterans Day story that highlights the presentation by Brian D. Fritsch of the Williams County, Ohio G.I.S. Department - published on November 11, 2023.

Sharing a link to this story - "Fritsch Discuses Veterans' Gravesite Dashboard" by the "Bryan Times"  covering this program that was part of the most recent meeting of the Williams County, Ohio Genealogical Society - a Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.  

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Here is the main link for Williams County Engineer's Brian D. Fritch, the coordinator of the G.I.S. (Geographical Information System) Department, for the veterans graves locations in the county by utilizing the 1930s - Depression Era - W.P.A. Cemetery plat maps that were created by workers of the Works Progress Administration during that time period. 

These unique cemetery plat maps list the names of veterans who served in American wars, uprisings, and rebellions since the American Revolutionary War. 

Black coffin-like symbols shown on the grave plots of these maps depict where each listed veteran was buried (i.e. row / grave/ lot).  

The corresponding number designating the war they served in is provided, if known, by their name in the listing of all veterans.

Shown below is a composite image of a typical Veterans Graves Registration Project (Works Progress Administration - AKA "W.P.A.") Title Page for the cemetery plat maps used for a collection of these maps for a county in Ohio shown on the top half. 

Below the Project Title image is the numbered list designating the wars, uprisings, and rebellions that American soldiers served in through World War I, which was the last war at the time these maps were drawn.   

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This is the main link for the 

"Williams County Geospatial Hub.":

"The Williams County Geospatial Hub contains useful information about drainage, location, and parcels in the form of interactive maps, apps, story maps, and dashboards."

Williams County Veteran Grave Locations.:

Williams County Veteran Grave Locations.: 

Interactive Dashboard

 Story Map

Web Experience

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Sharing here also is a link to what I feel is a companion website created by the Williams County Recorder. :

"Works Progress Administration (WPA)"

"When the Great Depression hit the United States in 1929, the American economy hit rock bottom. The value of the dollar became nearly worthless and millions of Americans lost their jobs. 

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced “The New Deal,” a series of new programs designed to pick America back up on to its feet and get the economy moving again. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was one of those programs."

"Initially designed to fund the building and improvement of America’s infrastructure, it also funded Veterans Graves Registration, the arts, history, and culture of America. In short, the WPA employed out-of-work Americans who were certified by local agencies as meeting certain qualifications."

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Additionally, note on the left hand side of this page is a listing of each of the townships in Williams County. 

Accessing each township brings up its listing of cemeteries with their map images. It is best to view them full size.:

Brady, Bridgewater, Center, Florence, Jefferson, Madison, Millcreek, Northwest, Pulaski, 
Saint Joseph, Springfield, and Superior.

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Williams County, Ohio cemeteries as listed on Find a Grave. 

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The City of Shaker Heights will receive sealed bid proposals for the Warrensville West Cemetery Gravestone Restoration project until 12:00 Noon on November 3, 2023

 Sharing from Kara Hamley O'Donnell:

"The City of Shaker Heights will receive sealed bid proposals for the Warrensville West Cemetery Gravestone Restoration project until 12:00 Noon on November 3, 2023, and such bids will be publicly opened and read immediately thereafter.

The project includes the preservation and documentation for up to a total of 57 urgent priority gravestones, as outlined in the Warrensville West Cemetery Historic Preservation Master Plan, available here:

https://www.shakeronline.com/DocumentCenter/View/6570/Warrensville-West-Cemetery-Historic-Preservation-Master-Plan?bidId= .

The project includes 7 obelisk/pedestals, 36 tablets/tablets with base and 14 die with base style monuments. Fifteen of the monuments are large, over a dozen broken stones need adhesive repairs and 31 monuments require mortar.

All work should be performed in accordance with American Institute for Conservation’s Code of Ethics and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards.

For the full Legal Notice, visit: https://www.shakeronline.com/.../Legal-Notice-Warresville...

For a copy of the Bid Package contact Alivia Henderson, Director of Purchases, at Alivia.Henderson@shakeronline.com."

https://www.shakeronline.com/788/Warrensville-West-Cemetery

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The Warrensville West Cemetery on Find a Grave

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Historic Pointing Mortar 101 - Resetting a Headstone Into a Slotted Base - Jonathan Appell - Atlas Preservation

Sharing the latest Youtube video from Jonathan Appell​ of Atlas Preservation about one of the types of monuments so many of us have been fascinated with for a number of years and enjoyed seeing them and learning more about their history.:

Warrensville West Cemetery - An early Cuyahoga County, Ohio cemetery - Sharing this short video by the City of Shaker Heights, Ohio showcasing the important progress ensuring the future of the Warrensville West Cemetery..

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The Warrensville West Cemetery on Find a Grave

The 2023 work sessions conclude for John King and Michael Lee Anderson - volunteers since 2014 - preserving gravesites at the Old Burying Ground in Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio

 

Sharing from the Friends of the Old Burying Ground in Greenfield.:

"On October 4th John King and Mike Anderson (Michael Lee Anderson) continued preservation efforts at the OBG.  This was an unannounced session so we could finish a couple tasks before we broke for the season.  We were able to rebuild a small box tomb and repair and secure a couple of other gravestones. It is likely this will be our last session for the year as the weather cools down. We thank all of you for your continued support of this effort and look forward to next season at the OBG.   We did have 8 sessions this summer as well as the help of Amanda Koehler in continuing to map the cemetery." "Since 2014, the Old Burying Ground (OBG) in Greenfield, Ohio, has been undergoing work by a group of dedicated volunteers. Throughout each year, work sessions have been held by key volunteers Scott and Venus Andersen, John King, and Michael Anderson.  We encourage your continued support in this effort and your sharing of this information with your friends.  Thank you for caring." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Old Burying Ground Preservation Project ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ An earlier recap about the Old Burying Ground ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Friends of OBG website ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The Old Burying Ground in Greenfield on Find a Grave ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The Old Burying Ground in Greenfield on BillionGraves. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The Old Burying Ground on the website of the Greenfield Historical Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Sharing some of my photographs below.:  September 16, 2016 photographs of the Old Burying Ground in Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ohio Cemeteries Receive Funds for Maintenance and Training - Ohio Department of Commerce awards $104,000 to assist nonprofit cemeteries"

Sharing this announcement from the Ohio Department of Commerce.:

"COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing awarded $104,000 in grants to 45 Ohio cemeteries through the Fiscal Year 2023 Cemetery Grant Fund."

"The Division registers more than 4,100 cemeteries in the state and administers the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission which assists in resolving complaints against registered cemeteries through mediation and conciliation.

“This is the fifth year the Division has awarded the grant for registered nonprofit cemeteries. 

We hope the award will help our stakeholders tackle projects that are never addressed due to lack of funding,” Division Supt. Daphne Hawk said." 

“We are honored to provide funds to help Ohio’s  cemeteries improve recordkeeping, restore monuments, repair fencing, and improve signage, all of which will help preserve a piece of the state’s history.”

"The grant is funded by $1 of every $2.50 from burial permit fees received by the Division. Cemeteries that applied and did not receive funding this year are encouraged to apply again next year."

"Grants were awarded this year to cemeteries in 32 Ohio counties." 

"For more information about how the Division works with Ohio cemeteries visit com.ohio.gov/real."

Boardman Township, Mahoning County, Ohio, Boardman Cemetery, Mahoning $2,500 upgrade and repair the ceramic brick building

Bradley A. Gee Garden and Columbarium Fairfield County, $2,500 repair the pond and liner

Cherry Valley Township Cherry Valley Township Cemetery Ashtabula County, $2,000 repair and reset monuments

City of Gallipolis Mound Hill Cemetery Gallia County, $1,351.73 purchase an electronic gate opener/closer

City of Marietta, Ohio Oak Grove Cemetery, Washington County, $2,500 purchase equipment and material to reset monuments

Crane Township, Paulding County Rochester Cemetery Paulding $2,500 repair and reset monuments

Eagle Township - Brown County Fincastle Brown $2,500 repair and reset monuments

Goshen Township, Mahoning County Bunker Hill Cemetery, Mahoning $1,950 purchase a cement mixer and materials to repair foundations

Grand Rapids Township, Beaver Creek Cemetery, Wood County, $2,500 to install two cement long slabs

Harlem Township, Fancher Cemetery, Delaware County, $2,500 purchase and stamp marker discs, survey lots and/or update the computer programming

Huntington Township Trustees, Huntington Township Cemetery, Ross County, $1,047 purchase a mini tiller and weed trimmers

Jackson Township Board of Trustees, Rose of Sharon, Clermont County, $2,500 repair and replace a culvert pipe

Jackson Township Trustees Witten Cemetery Monroe County, $2,500 trim and remove trees

Johnston Township Trustees, Johnston Township, Evergreen Cemetery, Trumbull County $2,500 repair and reset monuments

 Lee Township Sardis Cemetery, Monroe County, $2,500 repair and reset monuments

Liberty Township Trustee's Liberty Cemetery,  Seneca County, Ohio, Seneca $1,000 purchase stone to resurface the drives

Logan Township, Ft. Amanda, Auglaize County $2,500 repair and reset monuments and remove trees

Loramie Township, Houston Cemetery, Shelby County, $2,462 pour a cement floor in the pole barn

Munson Township Trustees, Maple Hill Cemetery, Geauga County, $2,500 repair and reset monuments

Newberry Township, Miami County, Highland Cemetery Miami $2,500 restore and repair the mausoleum

Orange Township Board of Trustees, Africa Cemetery, Delaware County, $814.27 upgrade to cemetery records software

Pike Township Trustees, Melscheimer Cemetery, Stark County, $2,500 plat and pin the new section

Poland Township, Lowellville Cemetery, Mahoning County, $2,500 conduct a survey of the cemetery with ground penetrating radar

St. Joseph's Cemetery Association, St. Joseph's Cemetery Association, Auglaize County, $2,500 repair tornado damage

The Forest Cemetery of Circleville, Inc., Forest Cemetery, Pickaway County, $2,500 repair and correct the flooding issue

Tod Township,  Oceola Cemetery #3, Crawford County, $1,600 remove trees

Union Township, Workman's Cemetery, Knox County, $2,500 repair and reset monuments

Vernon Township Trustees, Clarksville Cemetery, Clinton County, $2,500 purchase a new mower

Vienna Township Trustee, Vienna Township Cemetery, Trumbull County, $2,500 repair and reset monuments

Village of Baltimore, Basil Memorial Cemetery, Fairfield County, $2,500 repair and replace the mausoleum stain glass windows

Village of Caldwell, Olive Cemetery, Noble County, $2,500 repair the Veterans Memorial

Village of Galena, Galena Cemetery, Delaware County, $2,000 repair and reset monuments

Village of Greenfield, Greenfield Cemetery, Highland County, $2,500 remove trees

Village of Jackson Center, Jackson View Cemetery, Shelby $2,500 replace the chain link fence

Village of Roseville, Roseville Cemetery, Perry $2,500 remove trees

Village of Thurston, Thurston Primitive Baptist Cemetery, Fairfield $2,500 install a fence

Warren Township, Pine Knoll Cemetery, Trumbull County, $2,500 purchase a new trailer

Washington Township, King Cemetery, Van Wert County, $2,275 repair the asphalt roads

Washington Township Board of Trustees, Iberia Cemetery, Morrow County, $2,500 repair and reseal the roadway

Washington Township Trustees, Mercer County, Ohio, Macedon Cemetery, Mercer County, $2,500 repair and reset monuments and level graves

Wayne Township, Hayes Cemetery, Ashtabula County, $2,500 repair and reset monuments

Weathersfield Township, Kerrs Cemetery, Trumbull County, $2,500 repair and reset monuments

Woodlawn Cemetery, Woodlawn Cemetery, Henry County, $2,500 repair and reset monuments

York Township, Zion Cemetery, Fulton County, $2,500 spray weed killer and restone the driveways

York Township Trustees/Theresa Petrey, Mallet Creek Cemetery, Medina County, $2,500 repair and reset monuments and footers

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"Ohio Cemetery Grants"

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The Clermont County W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps are now on the right sidebar of the blog.

A link to this Clermont County W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Map collection is now on the right sidebar of the blog in alphabetic order with W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps of other Ohio counties.    

Clermont County's townships are the following.:

Batavia, Franklin, Goshen, Jackson,

 Loveland, Miami, Monroe, Ohio, 

Pierce, Stonelick, Tate, Union,

Washington, Wayne, & Williamsburg

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This collection of W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps for Clermont County, Ohio has a Cemetery Index Page and a Cemetery Locator Map.  Both pages come in handy for referencing the names of the cemeteries and their locations.  

The original maps are on microfilm and are kept at the Clermont County, Ohio Recorder's Office in the .PDF format.  

Some map pages, particularly those that appear to have been re-drawn at a later date, required the addition of a Township's name, and the Project Numbers (which were normally included in the "Legend of Wars" box that is located in the lower right-hand corner of a map page) See below.:

Thus, every effort was made through research to include that information where needed.

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Also, in a few instances, a composite of an image of the Project Title Page with the name of the  cemetery on the top portion; and the "Legend of Wars" listing below it, was added when the cemetery is lacking its own Title Page.  This situation would apply when a cemetery has a Key Map and multiple map pages for a cemetery.

Also, note there are some cemeteries having only a one page listing of the veterans for it; and thus the section pages lack their own listing of veterans names. Thus, additional notations were made on these map pages to cross-reference this type of a situation. 

Below is a example of how the Project Title Page is shown for a cemetery that lacks its own.:

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