Old Cemetery on Cook Road in Rootstown to get fence

Rootstown township trustees met Tuesday and agreed to give Deen’s Landscaping, Fencing and Farm Field Maintenance an authorization letter to build an ornate fence bordering Old Cemetery on Cook Road in Rootstown. 

“[The] first burial was in 1809,” said Don Boyle, a representative of the Rootstown Historical Society. “For a one-acre plot, it has nine Revolutionary War veterans, 10 War of 1812 veterans and two Civil War [veterans]. Probably 2/3 of the 1820 census is buried over there.”

Deen’s Landscaping, Fencing and Farm Field Maintenance is donating the fence, which will be 230 feet long, 36 inches high and made of black metal. The fence will border one side of the cemetery where the tree line is located and will replace the current barbed wire fence, which has been overtaken by trees. 

“We know where the real property line is, and it’s beyond those trees,” said Dave McIntyre, a trustee for Rootstown township. “Instead of just putting a fence where the current fence is with all the trees, we can put it on the other side away from the trees.”

Trees can grow into fences, bending and destroying them. By putting the fence away from where the trees will grow, the longevity of the fence will be preserved without cutting down trees. 

Trees provide cemeteries with shade and protection, which is important because exposure to sunlight, wind, rain and snow causes headstones to deteriorate. When the temperature is warm, shade from trees keeps visitors cool and comfortable. 

Fences keep wild animals that can harm headstones out of cemeteries and define the borders of cemeteries, according to Buzz Custom Fence. Fences make cemeteries more aesthetically pleasing, helping maintain older cemeteries’ status as historical treasures. 

The fence will give Old Cemetery a feeling of reverence, Boyle said. 

Law requires township trustees to build substantial fencing to enclose cemeteries and maintain the fencing.

“On a joking side, you have to have a fence to keep people out,” said Joe Paulus, the vice chairman of the Rootstown township trustees. “People [are] dying to get into it [the cemetery].”

The fence is expected to be installed sometime next year. 

Already in 2022, 21 veteran flag standards have been refurbished/replaced, there are 45 new concrete bases for headstones, 65 repaired/leveled headstones, 10 epoxy repairs and more. Two new veteran stones will be installed on Nov. 2. 

In 2023, the Rootstown Historical Society plans to order one new veteran headstone from Virginia, repair six headstones off-site, build two new veteran stones, create a scaled map, build a kiosk, make a new gate, complete landscaping and work on expanding parking. 

The remaining repairs for the cemetery are expected to cost around $4,000. The Rootstown Historical Society hopes to receive donations to reduce this number and is looking for volunteers to do labor work, like landscaping. 

I don’t have Twitter, so here are my tweets.

Tweet #1: Rootstown township trustees have agreed on where Rootstown’s new columbariums will be built and which way they will face. More information will be revealed to the public at future township trustee meetings. #Rootstown #Planning

Tweet #2: Rootstown township trustees have decided to rotate which soccer fields are used to reduce wear and tear on the fields. #Soccer #Preservation

Tweet #3: Rootstown township trustees plan to address the lack of parking by the soccer fields. #Rootstown #Soccer #Parking

Tweet #4: Rootstown township trustees have decided to table the issue of the abandoned house on Sandy Lake Road until May 31, 2023. #Rootstown #Housing

Tweet #5: Rootstown township trustees have agreed to provide an authorization letter for the installation of a fence to border Old Cemetery on Cook Road. #Rootstown #Cemetery #Installation