Durham Town Cemetery

Historical Significance

The brownstone gravemarker of brothers Luther B. and Seymore L. White is a rare Civil War era gravemarker depicting a musical instrument.  A relief of a drum adorns the top front of the marker in honor of Luther B. White, who at seventeen was too young to serve as a soldier, and so served instead as a drummer in the Union Army’s 10^th Regiment Band.

A brownstone obelisk marks the Civil War era burial place of Durham’s prominent Nettleton family.  The obelisk suffered from a dramatically shearing back face as a result of the Connecticut winter’s harsh freeze/thaw cycles.

White Brothers, 1864, CT Valley Sandstone, Center Cemetery, Durham, CT.

Overview of conserved drum carving and Civil War era marker during rememberance ceremony.

Wadsworth, 1860, CT Valley Sandstone Obelisk, Center Cemetery, Durham, CT.

Before treatment showing delamination and biological growth.

Wadsworth, 1860, CT Valley Sandstone Obelisk, Center Cemetery, Durham, CT.

Biological growth removal.

Nettleton, 1864, CT Valley Sandstone Obelisk, Center Cemetery, Durham, CT.

Injection of delamiations on obelisk face.

Wadsworth, 1860, CT Valley Sandstone Obelisk, Center Cemetery, Durham, CT.

During Tretment view of fill applied to cleaned and sandstone.

Nettleton, 1864, CT Valley Sandstone Obelisk, Center Cemetery, Durham, CT.

Consolidation of the friable stone marker prior to injections.

Conservation Treatment

The White Marker

• ŸMechanical removal of a waxy compound on the face crack from a previous, failed repair.
• ŸStone cleaning.
• ŸInjection of cracks with Jahn injection grout.
• ŸPatching of stone losses with Jahn patching compound.
• ŸResetting in a leveled bed lined with gravel for improved drainage.

The Nettleton Obelisk

• ŸStabilization of the shearing face with a series of “bridges” of polymer adhesive and pulverized brownstone.
• ŸWinterizing of the monument (pending full treatment in milder weather) with a custom-made Gore-Tex sheath and polyester lining to waterproof and provide physical support.
• ŸStone cleaning.
• ŸCrack injection using Jahn cementicious grout.
• ŸFills using Jahn patching mortar and brownstone aggregate.