The Settler Cemetery in Bethel will receive an extensive renovation over the upcoming months thanks to the efforts of the Bethel Historical Society and the Burke Trust.

At the June 25 meeting of the Bethel Village Council, Frank Manning, speaking on behalf of the historical society, asked for permission and funding to proceed with renovations including the restoration and protection of some of the older grave markers in the cemetery.

“The historical society has been doing some checking over of the old cemetery, and I want to say that both the street department and the electric department have cooperated,” said Manning. “We’ve gotten rid of some dead trees and bushes that covered some of the Burke graves, and we would like to take on the project of restoring some of the monuments. Some of the monuments are lying flat on the ground, and there are monuments this way and that way. We also want to chart the cemetery, there are no records anywhere on that cemetery.”

Recently, the village street and electric departments have been making inroads into the restoration work by cleaning up trees, brush and similar debris that has accumulated in the cemetery. However, the historical society wishes to go beyond that, fixing several failing grave markers and charting out where grave sites are located.