by William Matthias
Tombstones either pushed over and/or broken. Most of the vandalism occurred in the eastern half of the cemetery with many tombstones dating from the latter half of the 1800s and some from the early 1900s. The Town of Kendall and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department have announced a $500 reward for any information leading to the arrest of vandals who struck a rural cemetery in the Town of Kendall around Friday, October 12 and again later in the weekend.
Kendall Town Supervisor Daniel Gaesser said the vandals caused an estimated $5,800 worth of damage at the Beechwood Cemetery on Kendall Road. He also said the town’s insurance company will not cover any portion of the cost. The estimate, confirmed Tuesday, October 23, was provided by the monument company Brigden Memorials.
Vandals first damaged a cemetery building originally designed to serve as a chapel. They broke down the building’s door, smashed its windows and sprayed graffiti on the walls, according to town officials. Town highway department employee and cemetery caretaker Charles Patt reported the second, more severe incident on Sunday, October 14, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Department.
It has left community residents “heart-sick,” said former town historian Joette Knapp.
“I just don’t understand what is going through these (vandals’) minds,” Knapp said. “It’s really sad. We are hoping people will consider donating money to help cover the costs of the damage.”
Sheriff’s Deputy J.J. Cole, a member of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office located in Albion, is involved in the investigation of the vandalism that included about 32 gravestones that were toppled, some of which were broken. “It was a senseless act and we hope that whoever did it shows some remorse and comes forth to admit their guilt. Definitely, the families affected would like closure to this incident,” he said. It’s estimated that about $5,800 of damage was caused by the vandalism. Sheriff Scott Hess said approximately 32 gravestones were “toppled,” and in some cases, broken into pieces. Monuments marking the grave sites of persons buried in the 19th and 20th centuries were damaged as well. Some of the gravestones were ripped out of the ground and are believed to have been used to smash the monuments.
The town-maintained cemetery is more than 150 years old and hundreds of Kendall residents have been buried at the site, including veterans of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. At least one of the damaged monuments belonged to a war veteran, one who fought in the Civil War and died in 1864.
Knapp said the vandalized building is a sandstone chapel built in 1898, but it has only ever been used as a storage facility for the cemetery.
“I had just received permission from the Town to restore the chapel and dedicate it to the veterans,” Knapp said. “But, that has now been put on the backburner.”
Deputy J.J. Cole points out where the plywood window inserts in the former chapel were kicked in and the pillars supporting the entry porch were removed. The pillars are temporarily in place until the proper repairs can be done. Town Councilman Bart Joseph said the building, as well as a separate section of the cemetery, has been the site of frequent acts of vandalism over the years.
The Town of Kendall plans to install up to eight battery-operated cameras and five motion-activated floodlights on the property to prevent future acts of vandalism, Gaesser said. At a public meeting held Tuesday, October 16, the Town Board approved a $1,500 expense for the equipment and its installation.
“The cemetery is in a secluded part of town,” Gaesser said. “There is no power to the property and it’s located on a part of the road that is not well traveled. Our hope is that future trespassers will trip the lights and they will be caught on camera.”
Note: For information about donating to repair costs at the cemetery visit http://www.indiegogo.com/Kendall-NY-cemetary
