2023 West Virginia Cemetery Documentation & Preservation Workshop Series
This workshop series teaches West Virginians the methods to locate & document cemeteries and acts to preserve the valuable history that cemeteries contain.
In the classroom portion of workshops, participants can look forward to learning:
- Appalachian burial/funerary history, culture and beliefs
- History of cemetery/burial ground we are using for fieldwork & why its important
- How to digitally document a cemetery using two different mobile application/websites (BillionGravesⓇ & Find a GraveⓇ)
- Do’s & Don’ts when taking pictures of gravestones/markers
- Basic gravestone/marker style identification (Military, obelisk, etc.)
- How to safely read “unreadable” stones-methods of reading worn stones
- Basic identification of traditional cemetery vegetation (what NOT to cut)
- Basic identification of gravestone/marker material types (i.e. marble, sandstone, slate, bronze, limestone, granite) & problems with each type
- Basic cleaning techniques (i.e. what to use/what NOT to use,etc)
- Basic “tools” for cleaning gravestones/markers
In the hands-on field experience portion of workshops, participants will:
- Learn how to use various digital applications to document graves in the field and do any troubleshooting
- Experience taking gravestone pictures, adding photos to memorials, mapping with GPS, adding memorials and corresponding information to mobile app, etc
- Identify different styles of markers/monuments in the cemetery
- Identify different types of traditional vegetation
- Identify different types of stones in the cemetery, if it is safe to clean them & how
- “Adopt” a gravestone and clean it with D2
- Clear vines/weeds/leaves from around/on stones so they can be documented correctly
- Utilize two different methods to read “unreadable” stones (mirror & D2)
Workshops are free, but registration is required and space is limited!
Click the thumbnail of your desired location to be directed to the EventBrite page for details and registration.
This series is funded by a West Virginia Humanities Council grant, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, and AmeriCorps.
