The town has issued a request for proposals to develop a preservation plan for the repair and maintenance of the Old Burying Ground, a 285-year-old cemetery at Pleasant and William streets that has suffered the ravages of time, weather, and questionable preservation practices. There is no specific budget for ongoing maintenance of the cemetery. The town Department of Public Works provides services as needed if workers can be spared. As a result, the 1-acre cemetery, with 348 headstones that date from 1728 to 1924, is in need of care. Several headstones and footstones are damaged or sunken. The town’s Historical Commission has neither the funds nor the expertise for the sensitive maintenance work, officials said. The planning project is being funded in part by a Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund grant. Established in 1984, the state grant is offered through the Massachusetts Historical Commission to support the preservation of properties, landscapes, and sites listed in the State Register of Historic Places. Sealed proposals must be submitted to the town administrator’s office by 10 a.m. Dec. 6. For more information, visit the town’s website, www.ci.stoneham.ma.us.
- Brenda J. Buote 
