Gravestone Guardians, Inc.

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Gravestone Guardians, Inc.

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Gravestone Guardians, Inc., is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization involved in headstone cleaning, repair, and resetting since 2018.

We preserve the legacy of our past by providing expert headstone cleaning, repair, and preservation services. At Gravestone Guardians Inc., our mission is to honor and preserve the legacy of our forebearers by providing expert cleaning, repair, and restoration services for headstones. We are dedicated to maintaining the integrity of historical craftsmanship and safeguarding the stories etched in stone. Through meticulous care and respect, we ensure that each monument stands as a lasting tribute to those who came before us, celebrating their lives and preserving our shared heritage for future generations.

10/04/2026

WAIT… SIR ISAAC NEWTON?! 🍎🤔

Imagine our surprise this afternoon when, while exploring a small cemetery in Wardsboro, Vermont, we came across this substantial monument surrounded by an ornate iron fence.

And then we read the name:

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

Hold on.

That Sir Isaac Newton died in 1727. And unless Westminster Abbey quietly relocated to the Vermont mountains, we knew something was up. 😂

Turns out, this wasn’t an honorary title added to the stone and apparently wasn’t somebody having a little fun with an inscription. According to a 1915 genealogy of the Newton family, Sir Isaac Newton was actually christened with that name. He was born April 12, 1791, in Newfane, Vermont, the son of Marshall and Lydia Newton. He later settled in the part of Newfane that became Wardsboro.

And Vermont’s Sir Isaac Newton made a name for himself in his own right.

He was a farmer and became active in local government, serving multiple terms as Selectman, as Moderator of the Annual Meeting, and as Town Clerk. He married Patty Bartlett on Christmas Day 1815, and they raised a large family here in Vermont.

He died March 24, 1864, at age 73—the exact dates recorded on this monument.

So no, we didn’t stumble upon the final resting place of the man who gave us the laws of motion and universal gravitation.

But we did stumble across a wonderfully Vermont version of the story:

“We like Isaac Newton so much, we’re just going to make another one.” 😂

And THIS is exactly why we wander through old cemeteries.

You never know whose name is going to stop you dead in your tracks and send you down another historical rabbit hole.

Sir Isaac Newton of Vermont. Who knew?!

10/03/2026

Well… this afternoon took an unexpected turn. 😄

While wandering the backwoods of Southern Vermont, we came across a Highland coo completely by surprise — and if you know Dave, you know this was basically like spotting a celebrity. Ever since he first encountered a Highland coo 35 years ago in Dutchess County, New York, he’s been hooked.

Of course, one of our friends decided that simply meeting a Highland coo wasn’t enough… so they took things to the next level with a little AI magic and created the image of Dave living the dream. And honestly? It feels pretty accurate. 🤠🐂

Some people dream of sports cars or tropical beaches. Dave apparently dreams of one day riding off into the sunset on a Highland coo through the Vermont countryside.

Dream big, friends. Dream big. 😂

09/26/2026

What do you do on a Nor’easter Saturday when the rain is coming down sideways and the wind is howling outside?

Stay inside like a normal person?

Of course not. 😂

You head to the basement and make slotted bases for historic tablet headstones!

A little lumber, some measuring, a few forms, and suddenly the Gravestone Guardians basement has turned into a miniature precast concrete operation.

Because apparently when cemetery work gets rained out…we just bring the cemetery work inside. 🤣

These new bases will eventually head into the field to give several historic tablets a stable, properly fitted home — while keeping the original stones above ground where they belong.

Rain outside.
Concrete inside.
Hercules gets the day off.

Just another perfectly normal Saturday at Gravestone Guardians. 😂🪦

09/25/2026

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗱𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁… 𝘀𝗼 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀. 😂💪🪦

A few weeks ago, during our trip north to Maine, we spent the morning working alongside our friend Ben from 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 on a monument that had developed a noticeable lean.

The camera doesn’t quite capture it, but several of the monument’s sections had shifted over time. And when that happens, simply pushing everything back into place isn’t the answer.

So we took it apart.

Carefully. Piece by piece.

With Hercules handling the heavy lifting, we deconstructed the monument, leveled the base, and then began the slow process of putting everything back together properly.

Each section was reset on a bed of 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗿, providing even bearing and support between the stone surfaces.

And then, one piece at a time, the monument went back together.

Level. Stable. Supported.

And looking a whole lot better than when we started.

It was a great morning of sharing equipment, techniques, and a few laughs with Ben — and another reminder of something we’ve learned over and over again:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿. 𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.

Of course, Hercules already knew that.

He’s very humble about it. 😂

09/23/2026

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹… 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻. 😂🪦

Because apparently we can’t drive into a New England cemetery, unload the tools, and mind our own business without discovering that 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆.

This time, it was 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 in Winsted, Connecticut.

Harriet was born in 1807 to Daniel White and Clarissa Cleveland. She married Oren Kellogg on December 26, 1846. Sadly, Oren died in 1859.

A few years later, Harriet began another chapter, marrying Anson Harrington on July 10, 1863. She lived until January 23, 1881, when she died in Winsted.

Fast-forward more than 140 years, and Harriet’s headstone was no longer quite as assembled as its maker intended.

So… we fixed that. 😁

Piece by piece, we carefully brought the monument back together, returning Harriet’s name and story to the landscape where they belong.

And THEN came the genealogy check.

Yep.

𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆’𝘀 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻, 𝟲× 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱.

Of course she is. 😂

At this point, when we pull Clifford the Big Red Jeep into a cemetery, I’m half expecting Jenny to roll down the window and yell:

“𝗔𝗻𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲?”

Statistically speaking, somebody probably is.

Another headstone preserved.
Another story remembered.
And apparently… another Carr family reunion. ❤️🪦

09/20/2026

Apparently, our idea of a weekend getaway involves loading 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗝𝗲𝗲𝗽 with brushes, buckets, tools, and enough cemetery gear to make people wonder exactly what we’re up to. 😂

Then we strapped in 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀, our trusty tripod, and hit the road for 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘁! 🚙💨

Our destination was the beautiful 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱, where we spent the day with an awesome group of community members for a hands-on cemetery preservation class.

And when we say hands-on, we mean it.

Nobody was sitting on the sidelines!

Together, we worked through how to safely 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻—𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻—𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱. There was plenty of learning, plenty of questions, and just the right amount of getting dirty. 😄

But the best part of these classes isn’t what we accomplish in one day.

It’s what happens after we leave.

The brushes and Hercules may get packed back into Clifford, but the 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. Now there are more people in Winsted with the skills, confidence, and enthusiasm to continue caring for this incredible historic place.

And THAT is how preservation really grows. ❤️

We’re already excited to see what the power of this community accomplishes before we return next year.

𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 — 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱. 𝗪𝗲’𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿!

One stone. One story. One community at a time. 🪦

09/17/2026

Some headstones tell a story that stays with you.

Joel Clark was born in Bellingham, Massachusetts, in 1815. In 1841, he married Almira Foristall, and together they had four children.

Joel supported his family as a bootmaker, one of the many men in the Bellingham area who made their living in the boot and shoe trades during that period.

But his life was far too short.

Joel died on September 14, 1849, at just 34 years old. His recorded cause of death was “inflamed bowels,” using the terminology of the time.

Almira was left behind with a young family—and another child still on the way.

About five months after Joel’s death, their youngest son was born and given his father’s name.

Sadly, Joel Jr. would become the only one of their four children to live to adulthood.

There is a tremendous amount of life, love, work, and loss represented by a few lines carved into this piece of marble.

That is one of the reasons we do this work.

Cleaning a headstone is not simply about making old stone look better. It is about preserving the names and stories of people whose lives helped shape the communities we know today.

For a little while, Joel Clark’s story gets to be told again.

Joel Clark
1815–1849

Remembered once again. ❤️🪦

09/15/2026

Six cubic yards of topsoil.

A small army of volunteers.

And in just under two hours, one more major piece of the Finger Ground restoration was complete.

But this weekend felt different.

For more than two years, we have watched this cemetery slowly change.

We have cleared brush, uncovered stones, cleaned marble, reset fallen markers, repaired broken headstones, improved access, installed fencing, and spent more hours here than we could ever properly count.

Along the way, we have learned the names of the people buried here.

We have learned their stories.

And somewhere in the process, this stopped feeling like just another cemetery project.

The Finger Ground became personal.

This weekend, as that last load of topsoil was spread and the ground was finally leveled, we realized something:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲.

Short of putting down some grass seed and seeing what Mother Nature will allow us to grow, the Finger Ground has officially entered the 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲.

There will always be work to do here. There will always be stones to watch, vegetation to control, and maintenance to keep up with.

But the heavy lifting is behind us.

And that is a little hard to believe.

What was once an abandoned and largely forgotten burial ground is once again a place where the people buried here can be remembered with dignity.

That happened because people cared.

People showed up.

People gave their time, their muscles, their tools, their knowledge, and more than a few sore backs.

So this weekend wasn’t really about six cubic yards of dirt.

It was about reaching the point where we could finally look around and say:

𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝘁.

And we are deeply grateful to everyone who helped us get here. ❤️

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲.

09/13/2026

Well… apparently when we said we’d clean the Whitin family monuments, that included the parts way up there. 😂

Earlier this week, we made our way over to Pine Grove Cemetery in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, to begin work on the first of roughly 20 larger Whitin family monuments.

We’re incredibly grateful to have been selected to clean and restore these historic monuments and help preserve the stories they represent for decades to come.

This first one came with plenty of accumulated lichen and biological growth—and a reminder that sometimes cemetery preservation requires a soft brush, the right cleaner…and a willingness to leave the ground behind. 😳

Dave went high.
Jenny stayed wisely closer to Earth. 😂

One monument underway. Plenty more history ahead.

Preserving history. Honoring memories. One stone at a time. ❤️

09/10/2026

Earlier this week, Jenny went to work on the massive ledger stone of Katharine Sheldon Clark Whitin, born in 1851 to Lewis Clark and Nancy Sheldon.

Katharine married Arthur Fletcher Whitin in 1879. The couple had no children and spent nearly four decades together before Katharine passed away in Boston on April 9, 1918, from complications following surgery.

More than a century later, her beautiful memorial is getting some much-needed attention — and this one is definitely not a quick scrub-and-go job.

Jenny made tremendous progress, but we’re already looking forward to heading back and finishing the intricate floral border that surrounds the ledger. Those details are absolutely worth the extra time.

One stone. One story. One memory preserved. ❤️

Address

22 Judy Lane
Bellingham, MA
02019

Telephone

+17194334996

Website

https://gravestoneguardians.org/

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