NEWBURYPORT — Multiple graves at the Oak Hill Cemetery were vandalized over the Fourth of July weekend, with the bronze plaques removed.
Now folks are urgently calling for the plaques to be returned.
Oak Hill Cemetery is located at 4 Brown St. Consecrated in 1842, it is one of the first rural garden cemeteries in the United States. Managed by a Board of Trustees, it is an active private burial ground and is open for visitations from dawn to dusk.
The news of the stolen plaques was first reported Saturday by Oak Hill Cemetery Head of Ancestral Research, Tours, and Chapel Ghlee Woodworth, who shared information on the graves that were targeted.
“James Parton’s (1822-1891) stone plaque was ripped off and taken. James was an author, writer and known as the father of the modern day biography. I often mention the Parton family on my cemetery tours,” Woodworth said.
The other grave represented an entire family.
“The Dodge family, a dozen names, including Dana Dodge (1817-1873), owner of a carriage business on Liberty Street, plaque was stolen,” Woodworth said.
He urged people to spread the word and warn people at other cemeteries.
“The thieves may try to melt them down – but a foundry would report them – hopefully. Or they may have their own business,” Woodworth said.
Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon said he was saddened to learn of the theft.
“I think it is terrible some of these bronze plaques have gone missing,” Reardon said.
He kept his tone optimistic as he continued.
“Hopefully we can get the word out and they can be located and returned unharmed,” Reardon said.
Newburyport police Lt. Gregory Whitney said that the department is aware of the incident.
“We did get a report of that. We’re currently investigating it,” Whitney said.
He said anytime a structure has some kind of valuable metal it can become a target for thieves.
“We’ve had stories like that in the past. I can’t think of one specifically at a cemetery, but I know we’ve had it at a church in the past, some of the gold in there has been stolen,” Whitney said.
Similar to Reardon, he said he believes this could still have a positive outcome with the plaques ultimately being returned.
“We’re hoping to investigate and recover the metal,” Whitney said.
He offered some advice to try to avoid future thefts.
“If they can use fasteners that aren’t standard, whether it’s a flathead or like those star screws, sometimes things like that help,” Whitney said.
Woodworth was reached out to for comment but did not respond in time for this report.