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(Norwich, CT) – The Norwich Historical Society (NHS) and the Society of the Founders of Norwich (SFN) are collaborating with Rediscovering History Inc. and the City of Norwich to restore headstones in the Norwichtown Colonial Burying Ground. Thanks to a generous grant from the Tenney Foundation, NHS and SFN were able to contract Rediscovering History Inc. to perform this important preservation work. We are so grateful to the Tenney Foundation for their support. We’d like to thank the City of Norwich and the Public Works Department for their assistance and help with this project. The public is welcome to observe the restoration work Wednesday May 3rd - Friday May 5th from 9am -3pm. Currently, the public is not invited to participate in cleaning or resetting the stones. Rediscovering History, Inc is a 501(C)(3) volunteer cemetery preservation group that is committed to cleaning up our cemeteries, honoring our fallen military members and preserving history. Through cemetery cleanups, they are once again bringing our history to the forefront of our communities. Established on January 4, 1700, the Norwichtown Colonial Burying Ground located off Town Street and Old Cemetery Lane is the second oldest burying ground in Norwich, Connecticut. The land was sold by Lt. Samuel Huntington to be used for public burials. The burying ground is divided into two general areas, the first of which feature 17th and 18th century headstones; this section is located through the gates on Old Cemetery Lane. The second section is located to the north of the original section after crossing a small footbridge. It runs up hill and ends at the Hubbard Gates on East Town Street. Several thousand burials have been recorded here but only about 1300 headstones remain today. Free blacks and enslaved individuals were buried at the rear of the burying ground. Gov. Samuel Huntington, Hannah Arnold, Benedict Arnold’s mother, Boston Trowtrow, Black Governor of Norwich, and other prominent Norwich citizens are buried here. The burying ground is owned and maintained by the City of Norwich and is also utilized by the Norwich Historical Society for seasonal guided walking tours in addition to its yearly Antient Ghosts of Norwich tour. There are self-guided tour brochures available in an outdoor information box at the entrance of the burying ground so visitors can explore the site at their own pace. The Norwich Historical Society also brings school groups on field trips to the burying ground where we hold guided programs on early colonial history and funerary practices. Over the years, the historic headstones in the Colonial Burying Ground have suffered degradation and damage due to environmental exposure and vandalism. The goal is for the Norwich Historical Society, in league with the Society of the Founders of Norwich to team up with the City of Norwich to restore, repair, and clean many of these historic gravestones in the Colonial Burying Ground. This project recognizes the importance of historic burying grounds as public assets worthy of preservation and usage in the community. In particular, the burying ground has become an important extension of the missions of the Norwich Historical Society and the Society of the Founders of Norwich. Through restoration of this burying ground, the public will be able to continue connecting with this unique space. Furthermore, this restoration project will preserve the artistic and cultural integrity of the burying ground by giving visitors an opportunity to learn about the intricate process of funerary art and gravestone carvings. The project will serve as an important step in the Norwich Historical Society’s mission of identifying and restoring Norwich’s historic structures and cultural assets for the purpose of transforming the community into a historic tourism destination. For more information about the Norwich Hisotrical Society visit them at: https://www.norwichhistoricalsociety.org/ For more about the Society of the Founders of Norwich visit:https://www.leffingwellhousemuseum.org/index.php/society-of-the-founders-of-norwich/ And for more on Rediscovering History check out their website at: https://rediscovering-history.com/