HARRISON — A cemetery is supposed to be protected, in part, out of reverence for the dead, and a place for quiet reflection. That’s hard to do if no one knows it exists.

Town Clerk Melissa St. John said people came to the Town Office to purchase lots at Bolsters Mills Cemetery on Bolsters Mills Road and that got her thinking about graveyards in town.

Last summer, she searched for cemeteries recorded by the late Mary Carlson of the Harrison Historical Society. 

“I have located the ones she vaguely makes mention to out in Timbuktu,” St. John said. “I don’t know how we ended up with some of these cemeteries that we have.”

Town Manager George “Bud” Finch estimated there are between 12 and 17 cemeteries in town, some of which may be owned by the town.

The 12 cemeteries that the town is sure it owns are:

* Bolsters Mills Cemetery on Edes Falls Road

* Carsley Cemetery on Edes Falls Road

* Center Cemetery on Carsley Road

* Deer Hill Cemetery on Deer Hill Road

* Island Pond/Brackett Cemetery on Temple Hill Road

* Old Finnish Cemetery off Carsley Road

* Perley Cemetery on Summit Hill Road

* South Harrison/Buck Cemetery on Edes Fall Road

* Summit Hill Cemetery on Summit Hill Road

* Willard/Harmon Cemetery on Dawes Hill Road

* Woodsum North and South cemeteries on Route 117

“We’ve got some serious issues with some of the cemeteries that are very old,” St. John said. “Some of them we’re looking at, the stones aren’t even readable anymore.”

Her husband, Selectman Richard St. John, said he and Melissa found some of the graveyards. He told the board there is a tree in Deer Hill Cemetery that has grown up through the pipe fence and trees growing on the fence line.

“To bring it back and expose the fence would be a lot of work,” he said. “It has been quite eye-opening to see some of these.”

Richard St. John said there are either missing or lost stones in Old Finnish Cemetery, which is 1,000 feet from the road and overgrown. Records indicate there should be 11 gravestones there, but the couple could only locate five or six.

Selectman Matt Frank said South Harrison/Buck Cemetery is on a curve and speeding vehicles hit the wooden fence, which is missing boards and needs a paint job.

“I have no problem with the town deciding to take (the fence) down but I think we should try to make these places look as presentable as possible,” he said.

There are fencing and border issues with at least three other town cemeteries. South Harrison Cemetery has a white picket fence on the street side of the cemetery, but not in the back. Summit Hill Cemetery has a border of split stone, but some stones are missing. Bolsters Mills Cemetery is missing a fence on three sides.

Melissa St. John and Finch told selectmen at a recent meeting that veterans’ graves — whether in a town or private cemetery — must be maintained by the town, according to state law.

“Most of those have veterans in there so we have to maintain those graves,” Finch said. “I worked in a town that had a huge cemetery that goes back to the Civil War. The maintenance of it was a very high-end thing.”

He advised the board to decide how to maintain the cemeteries long-term.

“It doesn’t mean take care of all of the stones, all of the fences. If we’re going to be putting these in some historic stature and put grass back in there, it’s going to cost a lot of money,” Finch said.

“I think we should be using some kind of common sense,” Finch said. “I don’t think we need to spend a fortune on this but I do think we do need to do basic maintenance and in some cases, cutting the grass is OK.”

Melissa St. John said some of the cemeteries aren’t in bad shape and suggested having a group of volunteers clean them up on a weekend to save money.

In looking at a draft policy to govern burial grounds, Selectman Richard Sykes asked whether some of the rules of conduct, such as no obscene language, are enforceable.

“If we work on it now as a policy, we can keep working on it until we get all the bugs out,” Finch said. “Once the ink dries on an ordinance, it’s hard to change.”

Melissa St. John said the policy would have to become an ordinance to enforce the rules of conduct. The Maine Municipal Association does not have a cemetery policy but other municipalities do, which she is referencing, she said.

She also suggested having guidelines for Bolsters Mills Cemetery and setting limitations on what can be planted and erected there. It is the only active cemetery in town, meaning burials and sale of burial rights for it are being conducted.

Finch said the issue would be placed on a selectmen’s meeting agenda.

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