<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1G13cf_1H4nxWlY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1G13cf_1H4nxWlY00" width="1392" height="854" ><figcaption>The Mt. Bethel Cemetery Groveland Township.Photo: Patrick McAbee.</figcaption></figure>Groveland Twp. — The Groveland Township Board of Trustees re-established the cemetery board for Mt. Bethel and Olive Branch cemeteries on Monday night, for the first time since 2019.Following the appointment format used by previous cemetery boards, the newly appointed members include Treasurer Theresa Bills, Sexton Bill McIninch, Patti Back, Clerk Jenell Keller and a Groveland resident.The board reconvened following a donation of approximately 1.5 acres of land from the Levy Company to serve as an extension of Mt. Bethel Cemetery, which is located on Bald Eagle Lake Road. To begin development on the property, the board approved a $4,000 expenditure for OHM Advisors to complete surveying and topographical work.“We’re not going to disturbed the old graves,” said Kevin Scramlin, township supervisor. “Some of the headstones have literally disintegrated. The settlers of the township are in that cemetery. I think it’s a great thing for the community to open that side up, not just for those here now but for the future.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2tBW76_1H4nxWlY00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2tBW76_1H4nxWlY00" width="673" height="1062" ><figcaption>Century-old gravestones at Mt. Bethel Cemetery. Photo: Patrick McAbee</figcaption></figure>In addition to Mt. Bethel Cemetery, the township is also responsible for Olive Branch Cemetery, located on North Holly Road on the southwest corner of the township. Olive Branch Cemetery contains about 200 graves, with some dating back to approximately 1850, including markers from the Civil War era. Many of those buried there were area residents who originally moved to the region from New York.Under Michigan Compiled Laws, if a cemetery is not owned by a private association, the responsibility to properly maintain the property falls upon the township.“I know a lot of people that would be interested in going into the cemetery,” Keller said. “I love the idea of a columbarium and having a space now to work with. It’s also a point of information that we do have other cemeteries available with space.”The return of the cemetery board follows years of uncertainty regarding plot maps and burial availability. In July 2013, the board voted to close Mt. Bethel Cemetery to any future burials because years of vandalism and aging markers left officials uncertain about actual plot locations.“If there were vacancies we’re just not sure if new graves would encroach onto others,” officials said regarding the previous closure.The township previously attempted to address the mapping issues in 2014, when the township board voted 5-0 to pay up to $500 for Clarkston-based Kieft Engineering to map Mt. Bethel Cemetery. Engineers planed to utilize existing historical documents and GPS technology to locate specific plots. However, it was determined that utilizing ground-penetrating radar to reconcile incomplete records and discover forgotten graves was cost-prohibitive.</div></body>

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Groveland Twp. — The Groveland Township Board of Trustees re-established the cemetery board for Mt. Bethel and Olive Branch cemeteries on Monday night, for the first time since 2019. Following the appointment format used by previous cemetery boards, the newly appointed members include Treasurer Theresa Bills, Sexton Bill McIninch,...

Mt. Bethel Cemetery expanded, board re-established

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Groveland Twp. — The Groveland Township Board of Trustees re-established the cemetery board for Mt. Bethel and Olive Branch cemeteries on Monday night, for

Mt. Bethel Cemetery expanded, board re-established

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