Winterset Cemetery sustains damage after Saturday’s storms
During Saturday’s storms, Madison County suffered significant damage to one of its oldest sites. Headstones in Rock City Cemetery dating as far back as the 1800s were damaged. Uprooted trees and branches can be seen strewn about the scene. One of the oldest parts of the cemetery has been damaged. Diogenes Ayala, Madison County Emergency Management Director, said, “We have a lot of stones that have been destroyed. damage. “This damage comes as the county continues to rebuild after a tornado ripped through the area in March – claiming the lives of six people. No injuries or deaths were reported during Saturday’s severe weather, but it continued adds to the growing list of what needs to be done to restore the county.” It sets us back a bit, but we are strong in Madison County. We’re going to keep working hard and, you know, clearing things up any way we can,” Ayala said. The next steps are to safely clear the cemetery. The grounds bring their own challenges, but Ayala says the work will be done.” We have a lot of repairs to do. And of course we have to be very careful because of the cemetery. You can’t have big shovels here. ripping things out because you don’t want to rip the stones or damage the graves. So it’s going to be quite a task,” Ayala said. to be able to contact the families necessary for the restoration of all the sites.
During Saturday’s storms, Madison County suffered significant damage to one of its oldest sites. Headstones in Rock City Cemetery dating as far back as the 1800s were damaged.
Uprooted trees and branches can be seen strewn about the scene. One of the oldest parts of the cemetery has been damaged.
Madison County Director of Emergency Management Diogenes Ayala said, “We have a lot of stones that have been destroyed. And we continue to do assessments as a county to see where there is further damage.
The damage comes as the county continues to rebuild after a tornado ripped through the area in March, claiming the lives of six people.
No injuries or deaths were reported during Saturday’s inclement weather, but that adds to the growing list of what needs to be done to restore the county.
“It sets us back a bit, but we’re strong in Madison County. We’re going to keep working hard and, you know, clearing things up any way we can,” Ayala said.
The next steps are to clear the graveyard safely. The terrains bring their own challenges, but Ayala says the job will be done.
“We have a lot of repairs to do. And of course we have to be very careful because of the graveyard. You can’t have big diggers here to pull stuff because you don’t want to rip the stones out or damage the So, it’s going to be quite a task,” Ayala said.
With some of the headstones being so old, cemetery staff are concerned that they will not be able to contact the families needed to restore all the sites.
