A burial stone dating to 1794, the oldest in the Middle Village Cemetery in Springfield, received a roadside historical marker Friday, Aug. 30, funded by the private William C. Pomeroy Foundation.
The brownstone gravestone was for George Dodge, who was 56 at time of his death.
“What makes this rare, is not only the age of the stone,” Fred Culbert, president of the Springfield Historical Society, said. “The brownstone was not from around here, and the wing-faced design was unique.”
Tina and Dale Utter, of Chenango County, found Dodge’s stone about 12 years ago.
“We are passionate hobbyists for cemeteries,” Dale Utter said. “We drive around and clean and repair and reset gravestones that have been neglected for years, and we like to study gravestone carvers.”
When they discovered Dodge’s stone, they became worried about the front of the stone falling off. In 2021, the Utters presented the information to the Springfield Town Board.
“Fred (Culbert) was there and that’s how we hooked up with the historical society,” Dale Utter said.
The Utters’ paid for the expenses to have Robert Mosko, of Hanover, Pennsylvania, a conservator that they had worked with to come set the stone, and then the Utters did the rest of the cleaning and restoration for free.
“It needed work,” Culbert said. “We couldn’t even see the bottom part with the engraving of carver Chester Kimball’s name until it was set and cleaned.”
The historical society started to investigate both Dodge and Kimball, who was from New London, Connecticut.
“While not much is known about Dodge, we did discover that he had nine children,” Culbert said. “What was very interesting was that Kimball, the carver, had an interesting artistic style and history.”
The historical society discovered that Kimball was a third-generation carver. His father and grandfather were from Pomfret, Connecticut, and were popular carvers in much of Windham County, according to a historical society press release.
Kimball’s carving style began with flared ear cherub styles on brownstone imported from Portland, Connecticut. He moved to the area during the 1780s and was asked to carve the stone.
In 2021, the historical society applied to the William C. Pomeroy Foundation to fund a roadside marker for George Dodge and the carver Chester Kimball, which cost an estimated $1,900 for the sign and installation.
The foundation granted the marker in late August, and it was installed Aug. 28.
Although New York state once ran the historic area markers program, it currently does not manage approval, installation or maintenance of historical markers. That is up to local historians or officials, who often work with the William G. Pomeroy Foundation to secure funding.
An unveiling ceremony for the marker is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 8 at the cemetery.
For those interested in attending the unveiling ceremony, contact Fred Culbert at ccylbert@stny.rr.com.