PRAIRIE GROVE -- One of the projects that Prairie Grove Historical Society has taken on is to care for the headstones in the historic section of Prairie Grove Cemetery.

The local historical society sponsored a preservation project at the cemetery in April and the organization hopes to be able to clean tombstones twice a year, in the spring and fall, according to Aaron Carter, a society member.

"We're a historical society. We're here to preserve history so we decided to come out here," said Carter as he volunteered one Saturday along with other society members and some who just showed up to help with the project.

Bob Young with the Washington County Historical Preservation Group provided instructions to volunteers on how to clean historic headstones.

First, workers thoroughly rinse the headstone with water and are told to always keep the stone wet when cleaning. The stone is then sprayed with D/2 biological solution, a cleanser that is recommended for restoration projects. The solution is to stand for 10-15 minutes and then volunteers use a plastic bristle brush and scrub as needed to further clean the headstone.

The tombstone is thoroughly rinsed again and then sprayed one more time with the D/2 solution.

Young said the solution will continue to work on the stone for several weeks. It seeps into the stonework and continues to eliminate biologicals that have migrated under the surface of the stone. Eventually, it will be rinsed off by rainwater, Young said.

There are several things workers should not do when cleaning historical headstones. They should not use homemade cleaners or cleaners with bleach or any other household cleaners. Metals, such as wire brushes and metal scrapers, should not be used to clean the stones.

Young said Washington County has 13 cemeteries listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the historic section of Prairie Grove Cemetery, with 300-400 cemeteries in the county.

The county preservation group provides cleaning kits for organizations that are interested in helping to preserve headstones.

"We offer this to any cemetery that is having a cleaning day," Young said. "We just ask them to reimburse us for any solution that is used."

If interested in cleaning headstones, contact Bob Young at 505-690-5289.

Print Headline: Giving History A Good Scrubbing

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