Charter Street Cemetery Restoration Announcement - April 25, 2016
KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL
MAYOR
LYNN GOONIN DUNCAN, AICP
DIRECTOR
CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
120 WASHINGTON STREET ♦ SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970
TELE: 978-619-5685 ♦ FAX: 978-740-0404
April 25, 2016
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to inform you that the Department of Planning and Community Development and Department of
Public Services are working together to conserve Charter Street Burial Ground in accordance with
recommendations from the City of Salem Burial Ground Report 2002 and Secretary of Interior Standards.
Charter Street Burial Ground, the City’s oldest burial ground, is a 1.47-acre green space located within the
boundaries of Charter Street, Central Street, Derby Street and Liberty Street. Established in 1637, Charter
Street Burial Ground is a highly visible location, a historical asset that is well documented and visited by
thousands of people every year.
The purpose of this restoration project is to retain the burying grounds’ historic integrity while maintaining
visitor access to this National Historic Site. Freeze/thaw damage, deterioration of marble and limestones due
to acid rain, compaction of pathways and new cut-through pathways created by visitors have all contributed
to the deterioration of the burial ground and headstones. In addition, vandalism is a significant threat as
visitors have been known to take headstones or pieces of headstones that are already fractured or in
disrepair. As described in the “Salem Burying Grounds Planning Project Report” of 2002, one of the most
effective ways to deter vandalism is to maintain and enhance conditions of the burial ground.
The City has retained a landscape architect, Martha Lyon, of Martha Lyon Landscape Architecture LLC, to work
with the City and the Cemetery Commission to provide conservation treatment recommendations for this
historically significant landscape. Ms. Lyon is working with the City to provide landscape plans to improve
pathway circulation, signage, lighting, landscaping, and increased security. The landscape architect will be
presenting these plans through a public process at forthcoming meetings of the Cemetery Commission, Design
Review Board, and Salem Redevelopment Authority. The Charter Street Cemetery is within the boundaries of
Salem’s Urban Renewal District. Projects that have a visual impact in this district must be reviewed be
approved by the Salem Redevelopment Authority (SRA), after an initial review and recommendation by and
from the Design Review Board (DRB). This project will also be reviewed through a public meeting held by the
Cemetery Commission.
The City has also retained a team of stone conservators, Irving Slavid and Martin Johnson, of Monument
Conservation Collaborative. This team has completed the evaluation of the headstones and tombs at Charter
Street Cemetery and has compiled information in a Condition Assessment and Treatment Report with
recommendations for headstone and tomb conservation. The conservators will be on site beginning in May
working to restore headstones and tombs. The Conservators found a total of 90 markers (including tombs) in
need of conservation treatment. At this time, the City has funding that will address stones in critical need of
conservation first and will include the conservation of eight (8) tombs and fifteen (15) markers throughout the
cemetery. Between May and September 2016, you will see conservator teams working in the cemetery on
these markers. Please do not disturb the conservators or the work sites. In order to be able to keep public
access to the cemetery during the conservation work, it is critical that visitors not enter into the work sites.
Tombs to be conserved in this phase include: Turner, Fisk, Derby, Wainwright, Simon Bradstreet, Gedney,
Bartlett, and Lynde. Conservation of the tombs may include repointing, restoration of deteriorating stucco, a
restoration treatment of tops called consolidation, and securing loose tops of the table tombs so that people
cannot continue to lift them and cause further damage. As for the conservation of headstones, the
conservators may carefully excavate markers, attach fragments if found, fill delaminated stone with
historically appropriate materials, recast concrete bases, reset stones and treat surfaces with a D/2 biological
solution to clean the stones. For more information regarding conservation measures please visit:
http://www.salem.com/planning-and-community-development/pages/studies-and-reports. All work will be
done during the day, during normal City business hours. If you see work being undertaken in the cemetery
and are not sure if it is related to this project, please call the Department of Planning and Community
Development at 978-619-5685. If it is outside of regular business hours or appears to be suspicious activity,
please contact the Salem Police Department at 978-744-1212.
This project is made possible by Community Preservation funds. In the near future, the City will return to the
Community Preservation Committee for additional funding to carry out recommended landscape plans to
improve pathway circulation, signage, lighting, landscaping. and security. At this time, the City has received
$90,000 of an estimated $150,000 (+) restoration project and continues to seek additional funding sources.
We hope that through education about this restoration project, you can help the City be stewards of this
historically significant site.
If there are any questions regarding this restoration project, please contact Erin Schaeffer, Staff Planner with
the Department of Planning and Community Development by e-mail at eschaeffer@salem.com.
Sincerely,
Erin Schaeffer
Staff Planner
Department of Planning and Community Development