Twenty headstones have been vandalized at the Old Lower Sackville Cemetery. The cemetery owned by the Sackville United Church dates back to 1836 and is the final resting place of Mount Allison University founder Charles F. Allison. The vandalism occurred at the end of May, and was first noticed by custodian Fred Arsenault on the 25th of that month.
On that day Arsenault came to the property to find that the wooden doors of a garbage bin had been torn off and liquor bottles were strewn on the ground. The secluded area behind the utility shed next to the cemetery appears to have been used as a hangout.
All but one of the headstones in the same row as Allison’s stone have been broken off of their base or cracked in the middle and dropped on the ground. As well there are several other broken headstones throughout the cemetery.
Member of the church and local historian Phyllis Stopps spoke to the RCMP on Friday about the damage. She concluded that the broken sandstone monuments would cost upwards of $20,000.00 to replace, funds she says, the church just doesn’t have. “We’re trying to find solutions to other problems such as the possibility of a new, smaller church, these damages have added more to the burden already on our small congregation.”
The church delayed in reporting the incident to the RCMP because they have been dealing with so many other issues.
Anyone who has any information regarding the damaged property in the cemetery is asked to report it to the Sackville RCMP and anyone who would like to help the first step is cleaning up the area around the stones. Also, anyone who knows anything about stone restoration and is willing to help should contact the Church at 536-0498.
