DNR NEWS
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
402 W. Washington St. W255 B
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2748
For immediate release: Feb. 15, 2001
Cemetery registry will record Hoosiers' final resting places. DNR
coordination project seeks volunteer and community involvement
A new state registry and database to document historic cemeteries and
prehistoric burial sites is being created by the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources.
The General Assembly last year authorized the DNR to create a central
list of cemeteries and prehistoric burials. Many historic burials in
family plots, crossroads communities and pioneer villages were abandoned
over the years and they never have been recorded.
"Developing a statewide registry of historic cemeteries and family
burial plots will help communities protect the final resting places of our
ancestors," said Larry Macklin, the state's historic preservation
officer and director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
"Frequently these locations are not recorded, or the information
is not readily available, so disturbance and disruption has occurred
without planning and without community involvement," Macklin said.
Much information has been gathered already by local
organizations, including preservation and genealogical societies,
ethnic organizations, history clubs, religious organizations and
individuals, according to Macklin.
"The formats the groups and individuals follow varies in
completeness, but has extraordinary value for accurate research, and the
future of a database that can be accessed by all citizens," said Jon
C. Smith, deputy state historic preservation officer. Smith also is
director of the DNR's Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.
"We are bringing together information from all the groups who
already have gathered information locally. This will ensure that the
information concerning these places is not lost and that we no longer have
forgotten cemeteries," Smith said.
The DNR's responsibilities, according to the law authored by Rep. Markt
Lytle, D-Madison, include design of an electronic database and working
with and coordinating local historical societies, museums, genealogical
groups, archaeologists and private individuals to identify all cemeteries
and burial grounds in the state.
The database will allow the DNR to provide public awareness programs
about the problem of lost data and lost heritage. "The database also
will provide preservationists with an important tool they can use to
protect cemeteries in their communities," said Macklin.
The database will gather information on all cemeteries, currently used
or long forgotten, to preserve the data and make it useful to people who
want to know about the past.
Smith said the database director is Jeannie
Regan-Dinius, who
previously was a special project coordinator in the Division of Historic
Preservation and Archaeology.
Regan-Dinius developed public outreach programs and assisted volunteers
around the state on the Underground Railroad initiative known as the
Indiana Freedom Trails.
Before working for the DNR, Regan-Dinius was executive director of
Historic Forks of the Wabash in Huntington.
Progress on the database has been underway for several months, with DNR
staff working to establish a paper database. The electronic database will
rely on a survey of community-based interest groups that have been
gathering information on cemeteries.
The DNR will recruit volunteers to assist with the registry. The number
of cemeteries is unknown, but are believed to be in the thousands and
include burials, unmarked cemeteries, and known cemeteries.
Historical societies and genealogical groups have done a lot of work at
the local level on known cemeteries, and archaeologists regularly catalog
prehistoric burials, but only one percent of the state's known
archaeological sites have been surveyed, according to Smith.
Smith sees the database as one of several vital components the DNR uses
to help preserve cultural and historical resources.
"The National Park Service has nearly doubled funding for
Indiana's historic preservation projects this year because the DNR
Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology is managing one of the
nation's most successful preservation grant programs," Macklin said.
This year more than $825,000 in state grants will help fund about 35
preservation and research projects managed by not-for-profit
organizations, universities and local governmental agencies. Last year, 19
historic preservation projects received grants totaling $440,000.
Since 1974, Indiana has awarded more than $12 million from historic
preservation funds provided by the National Park Service.
The National Park Service increased support of states with high
performance in protecting historic sites and recording the history of
ancestors.
People with information regarding cemeteries or burial grounds in
Indiana, are encouraged to contact Jeannie Regan-Dinius at the DNR
Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology in Indianapolis at
317-232-1646, Smith said.
