Preston Oak Removed From Cemetery
More than 40 grave markers at Oak Grove Cemetery were damaged when several trees fell during strong storms earlier this month.
Straight-line winds blew through Lexington on the night of Sept. 4, leaving trees down on homes, cars and wires and knocking out power across the city.
Some of the worst damage in the city was to the historic cemetery, which crews were still working to clean up three weeks later.
The largest tree that fell, known as the Preston Oak, was estimated to be around 385 years old, city arborist Ray Ulrich said. The Oak Grove Cemetery dates back to around 1789.
The tree’s massive trunk was removed last week via crane, with South Main Street shut down during the operation.
It wasn’t until trees were removed that the city knew the full extent of the damage left behind. Gravestones were in pieces while the public works department roped off the oldest section of the cemetery and covered above-ground monuments with tarps.
Many of the headstones were from the 1800s and carried familiar family names like Pendleton and White.
The city is working with local company C.L. Hamric Memorials LLC to restore the stones that can be salvaged and plan to replace any that can’t be repaired.
Owner Todd Hamric said stones that he can fix will take a month or two, but others that need to be replaced could take nearly a year to fabricate.
The city is working to determine who will pay for the restorations, which Hamric estimated to be thousands of dollars.
Interim Lexington Mayor David Sigler said the city is looking into whether a natural disaster declaration can help fund what will likely be a long project. Some of the plots are so old it is hard to determine any remaining relatives.
“Our intention is to honor those that are buried in the cemetery the way that they were intended to be honored, whether that person has been buried there for 10 years or 200 years,” Sigler said.
The gravestones can be fixed and replaced, but the Preston Oak was also a big loss.
Ulrich said he’d been aware for years of efforts to preserve the tree, but it wasn’t until it fell that they were able to see concrete, rebar – even nails – installed years ago meant to keep it standing.
“It had a substantial amount of work done on it over the years,” Ulrich said. “But unfortunately, we don’t have any records.”
Ulrich said the city does inspections of all the trees in the cemetery annually and the Preston Oak appeared healthy from what they could tell during the last inspection.
But this time, the wind was too much.
“Arborists call it a sail effect, so when the wind comes through, it just pushes it right over,” Ulrich said.
City officials said they are trying to preserve parts of the tree’s wood to repurpose it.
Ulrich said he’s also gathered a few acorns to plant.
