The Windham Historical Society has established the "Committee for Cemetery Preservation and Restoration" to restore the historical cemeteries throughout Windham. Of highest priority at this time is the restoration of the iron fence surrounding the Old Willimantic Cemetery. Over the years, sections of the fence have been bent or broken off, so that now it has many gaps. Since it is located at one of the main entrances to the Town and has historical significance, the Society would like to see it restored. The restoration effort would include casting new medallions and finials to replace those missing all along the fence, replace a gate and possibly replace some entire sections of the fence where the damage is extreme. The project will also involve sandblasting the entire fence down to its original metal and painting it upon completion. Additional restoration involving the walkways and paths, as well as landscape maintenance, will also be part of this project.

An example of a broken section of the cemetery fence

The Society sees this high visibility project as a way to recover one of the Town's Victorian treasures, since the cemetery has tremendous historic value. It also offers a unique opportunity for education about Windham/Willimantic's history through hands-on volunteer work. The Committee would like to engage students, youth groups, and other volunteer organizations to assist in this project through research, fundraising, and actual work on the fence's restoration

An example of a gravestone with ornate sculpture

The Old Willimantic Cemetery was founded in June of 1829 when some land was purchased from Henry and Joseph Brown, in order to provide a burying ground for the Town. The plots were laid out on a grid pattern and the walkways were named after the trees planted there. As the population of the Town grew, it became necessary to expand the cemetery. A major addition was made to the cemetery in 1848 and again in 1877. It was this expansion in 1877 that changed the overall appearance of the cemetery. At this time, a granite fountain, ten feet in diameter and four feet deep, was added. An artificial lake was also added, along with boundary walls and new walks and drives. The walkways were not set on a grid pattern but instead on a more naturalistic design which had more winding and meandering roadways. The roadways were named after some of the well-known cemeteries in northeastern cities, such as Mount Auburn Avenue (Cambridge MA) and Cedar Hills Avenue (Hartford). At this time in history, cemeteries were used by the public in the same way that parks are today.