Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) and Friends of Old Stone Cemetery will be conducting a volunteer cemetery restoration and cleanup workshop at the Old Stone Cemetery in Lewisburg from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

This historic preservation project will utilize volunteers from the community as well as PAWV’s own statewide Preserve WV AmeriCorps program to assist Friends of Old Stone Cemetery, the nonprofit organization striving to preserve this historic site, in rehabbing and preserving tombstones and excavating a lost family plot.

Friends of Old Stone Cemetery, will instruct volunteers on mortaring/sealing tombstones and building stone bases. There will also be a bit of excavation of a recently discovered lost family plot. Excavations so far have uncovered the antique fence that surrounded the plot, column pieces, and assorted foot stones. Volunteers will be working together to help residents preserve their family history as well as Greenbrier County’s history.

The Old Stone Cemetery is located on the grounds of the Old Stone Presbyterian Church (which was built in 1796 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places). The cemetery is the final resting place for over 1,800 people. The grave sites range from local families and town leaders to Civil War soldiers.

Friends of Old Stone Cemetery was formed by local cemetery preservationists Morgan and Kate Bunn in 2013. At the start of their restoration project, approximately 20 percent of the gravestones were illegible with many damaged or missing. The organization’s mission is to rehabilitate and preserve all 875 tombstones. Volunteers participating in this restoration project will be assisting Friends of Old Stone Cemetery achieve its endeavors to preserve local and West Virginia history.

For more information on future events and up-to-date information on the work being conducted by Friends of Old Stone Cemetery, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/FriendsofOldStoneCemetery.