Coastal Rivers and Damariscotta Historical Society partner to improve cemetery access

New bog bridge makes it easier to care for a private family plot

Coastal Rivers and the Damariscotta Historical Society (DHS) worked together in May to improve access to the House-Day cemetery, a small family plot located in the woods off of Lessner Road near the Damariscotta-Bristol town line.

Patti Whitten, Cemetery Trustee for the Historical Society, approached Executive Director Steven Hufnagel last fall looking for suggestions for improving the trail that provides access to the House-Day plot. The path passes through the woods, over rocks and roots, and up a small hill. While the distance may not be far, Patti and other volunteers are often maneuvering heavy loads such as buckets of water, tools and equipment, wheelbarrow loads of material, or even heavy fragments of broken monuments.

The path leading to the House-Day cemetery plot, before the addition of a bog bridge (photo by Patti Whitten)

Conditions across one section of the trail range from spongy to flooded, depending on the season, which made access challenging. Every year, flooding made volunteers have to bushwhack on a roundabout route through shrubs and trees to avoid the standing water.

Patti wondered if a bog bridge over the wet area would help, which led her to our door. The project offered an opportunity to support our partners at the Historical Society and assist with the preservation of a local heritage site. Steven was pleased to help and offered for our staff to plan and construct the bridge if DHS could provide materials.

Trails and Facilities Manager Jim Grenier and Lands and Stewardship Coordinator Gunnar Nurme met with Patti on site last fall to draw up a design. This spring, on May 8 and 11, Gunnar and Stewardship Director Brad Weigel assembled the 32-foot bog bridge, even adding graded gravel at both ends to make it accessible for a wheelbarrow.

“They did a fine job,” Patti told us. “The bog bridge makes it much easier to get tools and materials up to the cemetery, which includes the graves of two veterans of the War of 1812.”

Established in 1998, Damariscotta Historical Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing our heritage with the community and friends. For more information, contact info@damariscottahistorical.org or visit damariscottahistorical.org.

Top photo: The gravestone of John House, veteran of the War of 1812 (photo by Patty Whitten)