Historic Ithaca held its first ever Halloween graveyard tour in 1994. Many rural cemeteries have been toured since then, but by 2000, October had become a month of programming to celebrate Ithaca’s own City Cemetery. With its earliest burial dating to ca. 1790, the City Cemetery is the final resting place for centuries of Ithacans. Today, the landscape faces a range of natural and human threats, including vandalism, erosion, and general deterioration. Friends of Ithaca City Cemetery, an affiliate of Historic Ithaca, was created to advocate for and involve the community in the preservation of this historic resource. In Summer 2015, four students in HI’s job training program, Work Preserve, led by local historic masonry specialist Randy Ruth, worked to restore monuments throughout the ICC. Today, HI and FICC promote appreciation and enjoyment of the cemetery through tours, clean-ups, and an annual “Cemetery Sprint."
"Youths help preserve Ithaca cemetery," Ithaca Journal, Aug 12, 2015
Newsletter: September 1994
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