Sandi Clark (left) and Carol Grose (right) of Woolwich were one of about eigth volunteers who painted fence posts in the Nequasset Cemetery on Tuesday, Sept. 14. Kathleen O’Brien / The Times Record

A group of about eight volunteers, known as the Friends of Nequasset Cemetery, spent Tuesday morning painting the fence around the Woolwich cemetery to match the Nequasset Cemetery’s new sign, the latest in a series of improvements to the cemetery.

The cemetery, founded before the town of Woolwich, holds over 540 known gravesites, some of which date back to the mid-1700s, according to volunteer J.C. Donahue.

Cousins Paul Berry and Nancy Michael have also carefully cleaned over 200 headstones since 2019, without using a pressure washer that could damage the delicate stones.

Volunteer Bob Turcote asked the town to purchase the roughly $700 sign for the previously-unmarked Nequasset Cemetery. He also helped clear away overgrown brush and dead plants to reveal a cluster of headstones.

Bob Turcote of Woolwich, a member of the volunteer group Friends of Nequasset Cemetery, asked Woolwich to chip in just under $700 for a sign for the cemetery. Kathleen O’Brien / The Times Record