From the Grounds

2026 Grounds Restoration Campaign Reaches 68% — 47 Headstones Restored So Far

Published May 28, 2026 · 8 min read

Thanks to 128 generous donors and 85 dedicated volunteers, our largest restoration effort in a decade is transforming Section C of Turpin Cemetery. This spring alone, our monument restoration team has cleaned, repaired, and stabilized 47 weathered headstones dating from 1840 to 1920.

Among the most significant recoveries: the marker of Civil War veteran Elijah Turpin (1838–1897), whose inscription had become nearly illegible after 130 years of weathering. Using gentle D/2 biological solution and professional epoxy stabilization, volunteers revealed his full name, regiment, and epitaph — allowing his great-great-granddaughter to visit and read it clearly for the first time.