T-L Photo/CARRI GRAHAM Bethel Church Pastor Jeff Eschbaugh points to a couple gravestones in the cemetery that need to be reset.

BARNESVILLE — Bethel Church officials aim to restore every gravestone in the adjacent cemetery beginning in the spring, and they hope area residents will volunteer to assist in the endeavor.

The Bethel Cemetery is in need of some “TLC,” as most of the approximately 250 gravestones are covered in dirt and moss. Others have fallen over out of place or are buried beneath the surface. Some of the graves date back to 1832; the last person was buried in the cemetery in 2006.

Pastor Jeff Eschbaugh, who is also the church caretaker and one of two cemetery trustees, said they are hoping to restore the history of the cemetery “one stone at a time.”

“We still have people that come and visit their loved ones, and we just want it to be a nice place to come to. … We want to leave it a better place than what it was,” he said.

The deteriorating condition of the gravestones prompted church officials to take action.

“I helped a guy named Don Stonesburner at the Salesview Methodist Church cemetery in Salesville (Ohio). His father, John, started that cemetery and he said, ‘You can tell a lot about the people around the cemetery by what it looks like.’ … The preservation is left to those living, and if you were to care for the living at the church, care for the dead,” he said.

The church secured a $3,000 GAP grant through the Belmont County Tourism Council last year and plans to use the funds to complete the restorations.

“We acquired the grant to buy tools to work with, cement, foundation and we’ve reapplied this year so hopefully we’ll get it again this year. … We want to tremendously thank the tourism council for their support,” he said.

Eschbaugh said they are partnering with Atlas Preservation for the cleaning chemicals needed to restore the stones and the information on the proper technique to do so. He said they wet each stone, take a soft bristle brush to it, let it dry then spray the D2 cleaning solution that will slowly clear the debris from the stone.

“We’re going to start in the front and work our way back doing every stone,” he said. “We’re going to move the stone, dig it out, pour a concrete foundation and put a sealer on the concrete to help preserve it and then reset the stone with the proper materials.”

In addition to cleaning and resetting all of the gravestones, they plan to remove a line of trees to stop limbs from falling onto the stones, causing damage.

Eschbaugh said they are searching for volunteers in the community who would be willing to help with the process in the spring. It will most likely be on a Saturday each month. More information will be released on the church’s Facebook page when the time comes.

Eschbaugh said church member Melinda Grywalski has taken on the position of cemetery research historian and compiled a book that contains every person buried in the cemetery. He said there are approximately 50-60 unmarked graves, mostly from the 1800s. They are hoping to figure out who they belong to.

“We’re looking for anyone in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia that has any information on where their loved one is buried, because we have a lot of unmarked graves,” he said, adding that they have a map of the cemetery but no records of where each person is buried. “We’re trying to determine who’s where.”

Once they discover who is buried beneath the unmarked graves, the person’s name will be added to the directory map.

Anyone with information on family members that may be buried in the graveyard or those that wish to volunteer their time for the cleanup of the stones can contact Eschbaugh at 740-801-1999. Bethel Church is located at 32365 Leatherwood Pike in Barnesville.