Tom Tolen / whmi.com

A local group which has done a remarkable job of restoring Brighton's Old Village Cemetery was honored at Thursday night’s City Council meeting.

The Brighton Area Historical Society was presented with a proclamation by Mayor Kris Tobbe, lauding the group for its yeoman’s work in restoring over 160 headstones, some of which go back to the Civil War era.

The restoration project began in 2009 when Historical Society President Jim Vichich approached then-city manager Dana Foster with the idea of repairing the old headstones, many of which were broken, with some being completely buried. The cemetery is located downtown on St. Paul Street behind St.Paul’s Episcopal Church on the Millpond.

In addition to the damaged headstones, the cemetery also needed a considerable amount of work in cleaning up debris, cutting overgrown weeds and mowing the lawn. Foster was receptive to the group’s offer and helped with the required approvals from the fire dept. and other agencies. The project finally got underway in 2012 after the group received training in how to restore old headstones. Volunteers are now putting the finishing touches on the headstones and hope to have work completed sometime this fall.

In presenting the proclamation, Mayor Kris Tobbe said, “We owe this group a huge debt of gratitude for preserving our heritage (and) for honoring our citizens that have passed.”

Vichich accepted the award on behalf of his cadre of volunteers, many of whom were present for the ceremony. Vichich said, in his words, “This proclamation, this affirmation...means a lot to us.”

Thus far, some 163 headstones have been repaired and another 240 straightened.

It is not the first example of recognition received by the group of dedicated volunteers. The Historical Society also received the 2023 Michigan Historic Preservation Network Community Award for painstakingly restoring the Old Village Cemetery.

Photos - Top: Mayor Tobbe presenting the proclamation to the group that did the restoration work.
Middle: Restored headstone of Lt. Col. John Gilluly, who was killed in the Civil War. He was also a teacher and attorney in Brighton.
Bottom: Heavily damaged headstone of Lt. Col. Gilluly before restoration work began. Vichich gave kudos to the work of "Sons of Union Veterans" Camp 120 in Howell for their invaluable help in restoring the headstone.