By Theresa Knapp 

Restoration work will soon begin in five of the town’s historic cemeteries. 

At its meeting on July 10, the Holliston Select Board approved a contract with Village Green Restoration of East Falmouth to perform restoration work in five historic cemeteries: Central Burying Ground, South Cemetery, East Holliston Cemetery, Old North Cemetery, and West Cemetery - in that order. 

Holliston Facilities Director James Keast said the work will start in September in the Central Burial Ground and will progress as weather permits in the hope of completing all work by Dec. 2024 for the town’s tercentennial celebration. 

“A number of the stones are either leaning, are bent or completely fallen over, or cracked…and some stones have actually been entrenched in trees and roots [so] if they can be removed, they will be brought forward of the tree,” said Keast, who is also a member of the Historical Commission. “The sunken graves in those areas will be filled in, and a number of the trees that are dead will be taken out. So it’s a big project.” 

The contract is in the amount of $302,960 and was approved at May 2023 Annual Town Meeting to be funded by the Community Preservation Fund. According to the May warrant, the total balance of Holliston’s Community Preservation Fund was approximately $4.47 million before any expenditures approved at that meeting.