A group of volunteers representing the Lake Minnetonka Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution have been working throughout the summer to clean and restore the headstones of early Minnesota settlers and Civil War veterans who are buried at Groveland Cemetery in Minnetonka.
This is the second year the group has taken on the project, which began last year at Shorewood’s historic Woodside Cemetery.
The restoration efforts are designed to clean the headstones and grave markers without harming their history. During their latest cleaning session on Aug. 25, the women worked off of a list that identified the gravesites in need of care. Once identified, the markers were edged and carefully cleaned using soft brushes, water and a biodegradable cleaner that removes mold, algae and pollutants. It was the sixth visit to Woodside this summer, with one more planned to wrap up their efforts to clean more than 100 gravestones and restore around a dozen gravesites with pruning, weeding and replanting.
“Some of these were unreadable,” said Gigi Hickey of the Lake Minnetonka Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. “The improvements were so striking.”
In addition to the headstones of early settlers and Civil War veterans, the Lake Minnetonka Chapter has also been working to restore the markers of veterans who served in World War I, World War II and the Korean War.
The project is part of a statewide DAR effort to preserve Minnesota’s history and heritage through cemetery care and renewal.
According to the Lake Minnetonka DAR members, Groveland Cemetery records indicate that a total of 13 Civil War veterans are buried on its grounds. The 1890 U.S. Federal Census Schedule of Surviving Veterans lists 54 Minnetonka residents as having served in the Civil War. Five of these men are buried at Groveland Cemetery. They include William Streeter Chowen, Amos Day and George Phillips, who all served in the 11th Minnesota Infantry, David Howe who served with the 1st Minnesota Infantry and Henry Ogin who served between September 1864 through the end of the war in spring 1865.
Captain Dudley Porter Chase, who is considered Minnetonka’s most famous Civil War veteran, is also buried at Groveland Cemetery. According to the Military Historical Society of Minnesota, Chase served as captain of Company A of the 2nd Regiment, United States Sharp Shooters. He participated in a total of 14 battles before being mortally wounded during the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. His gravesite was rededicated in 2012 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Today, Chase’s sharpshooter rifle is on display at the Minnesota Military Museum at Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minnesota.
(This article was published in the Sun Sailor Plymouth/Wayzata on Thursday, Sept 1, 2022.)
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