BELLEFONTE — In September of 2023, a new board of directors was elected to the Bellefonte Cemetery Association. This year, the new board is working to fulfill the needs of Union Cemetery that were previously neglected due to the drastic amount of upkeep required to preserve each historical headstone in the cemetery.
Union Cemetery, located on Howard Street behind the Bellefonte courthouse, has significant historical ties to the Centre County community. The cemetery was established in 1795 and became a symbol of the progressive nature of the area by becoming one of the first racially integrated cemeteries in 1897.
Presently, the 19.5-acre cemetery has performed 10,000 burials and is home to 5,000 headstones, many of which record the names of significant figures in Centre County.
Notable figures buried in the cemetery include Pennsylvania Gov. James Beaver, whom Beaver Stadium is named after; Evan Pugh, the first Penn State University president; Lt. Col. James Dunlop and James Harris, the cofounders of Bellefonte; and many more. Historical walking tours are available for members of the Centre County community to learn more about the significant figures buried in the cemetery.
However, for those unable to visit in person, the new board is taking on the digitization process of the cemetery.
“By digitizing the cemetery, people can look to find out who is buried in what plot,” said Kevin Corman, president of the Bellefonte Cemetery Association. The new process of making the cemetery web-based allows for both Centre County residents and those outside of the region to have access to the history, Corman explained.
One of the benefits of having an accessible digital record for visitors to use virtually is that it provides the board with the time and opportunity to work in the cemetery properly cleaning and repairing the headstones. Each step of the preservation process of the cemetery is completed solely through volunteers’ physical and financial support.
“One of our biggest things right now is trying to get the community interested and involved in the cemetery,” Corman said. “The history behind Bellefonte and the Bellefonte area is shown in the cemetery. There is so much important history behind it.”
On Saturday, April 6, the Bellefonte Cemetery Association will have a community cleanup day, where volunteers are requested to help remove sticks, debris and old decorations in the graveyard. Volunteers can additionally help mow or trim the cemetery. The community cleanup day is just the start of this year’s restoration process. Headstones throughout the cemetery will begin to be cleaned, which is essential for preserving the stones.
The Bellefonte Cemetery Association raised $12,000 which will be invested in repairing anywhere from 28 to 35 headstones. However, that will just scratch the surface of what restorations need to be done.
“We have 5,000 headstones and somewhere in the neighborhood of 125 to 130 stones that need to be repaired. We can only do around 50 this year if we are lucky,” Neely explained. “And there are so many older stones from the 1800s that you can’t read the faces of at all. If we can raise the funds, we can also replace those with readable names for the people.”
Through the support of the Bellefonte Cemetery Association, community members can help remembrances of residents who came before to live on.
