A historic Sidney chapel has been vandalized.
Officers of the Prospect Hill Cemetery Board of Directors posted to the “Prospect Hill Cemetery – Sidney New York” Facebook page Wednesday, April 16 to announce that the downspouts on the cemetery’s historic chapel building had been stolen.
Prospect Hill Cemetery Board President Dawn Williams said the damage was discovered during routine maintenance of the grounds.
“The caretaker that takes care of the cemetery and has for over 10 years was here cleaning up for spring, and discovered the downspouts were missing off this historic building – the front and back,” she said. “It appears to be more recent, because the brackets were broken. We’re just at a loss right now, and now we have to spend more money and do the downspouts.”
The chapel, Williams said, has been the focus of restoration efforts for “the last couple of years.”
“We’ve been trying to restore the historic chapel that is in Section 1 of our cemetery,” she said. “It sits near the road of East Main Street, and it is (1893) that it was built. Last year, we did the roof and, this year, we’re hoping to do the stained-glass repairs and to take off the plywood covering the windows.”
“They used to conduct funerals in this building, and it’s really beautiful inside, it just needs to be redone, but we have to make sure the outside is secure first,” Becky Leidy, board secretary, said. “The inside is another project, but we want to get the outside secure and looking nice. It’s an old building and it’s held up very well.”
The missing downspouts, sources said, are among a string of thefts and damages at the chapel site.
“A few years ago, someone tried to break into (the chapel) and that started this whole process,” Williams said. “We will have to pay to have it redone, otherwise water will go in and ruin the foundation of the building.”
“Years ago, people threw rocks and broke the stained glass, so we had to put up the plywood but that looks horrible, and we’ve got this project going this year to restore those,” Leidy said. “They’re simple, but they’re beautiful, and we want to cover them with something called Lexan, like a Plexiglas, so they can’t break the windows once they’re restored. You put a lot of money and time into things, to preserve the beauty of it, then you have people come along and just deface it.”
Sources said, despite such recurrent vandalism, restoration efforts will continue and have been well supported. Restoration costs, Williams said, have been entirely fundraised.
“We’re going to paint the trim on the chapel this year, and we’ve had such interest in what we’re doing, so to have this happen is really kind of disappointing,” Williams said. “We’ve had great support from our community and lot owners … but people are upset with what’s going on here in the village, and it’s not just here at the cemetery.”
Leidy said the group remains on track to start with the inside work next year.
To donate to restoration efforts, mail a check to P.O. Box 272 Sidney, NY, 13838 with “chapel restoration” in the memo line.
For updates or more information, find “Prospect Hill Cemetery – Sidney New York” on Facebook.