By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
During the Tucker County Commission’s meeting, the Commissioners heard updates on the work completed on the clock tower at the Courthouse, as well as the efforts being made to restore the Cemetery at Camp Kidd that was part of the County Farm.
Tucker County Commission Administrator Sheila DeVilder said the clock tower project saved the County $50,000. The project was funded through grant money, according to DeVilder. “We just finished up a project on the clock tower and it did save us about $50,000,” DeVilder said.
According to DeVilder, the project not only restored the aesthetics of the tower, but saved the structure. DeVilder said the walls on the tower that were failing were structural in nature. “And it saved the clock tower because the walls that were falling down were actual structure walls,” DeVilder said. “That was the actual structure of the clock tower.”
DeVilder said the repairs saved a vital part of the Courthouse. “That repair saved the clock tower for the courthouse which is a big part of our courthouse,” DeVilder said. “It’s what everybody looks for.”
As a part of her report to the Commission, DeVilder said she was completing work on a grant to fund the efforts to restore the Cemetery at Camp Kidd. The grant is intended to assist with a geophysical survey of the site to locate grave sites, according to DeVilder. “I have an application going out for a grant for the Camp Kidd Cemetery,” DeVilder said. “The Poor Farm Cemetery. To help with the geophysical survey that we are doing down there so we can try to figure out how many people are actually buried in the cemetery and move forward with turning it into an actually cemetery for people to go.”
DeVilder said the County has been working with the Tucker County Historical Society to identify those interred at the site. “We are working with the historical society to try to figure out who is buried there,” DeVilder said.
The County plans to set a memorial at the site once the more information is obtained, DeVilder said. DeVilder also said she wanted the public to know of the efforts and that there will be a restored cemetery for residents to visit in the future. “I guess the ultimate plan is to put up some type of a memorial wall plaque or something once we get more information and move on from there,” DeVilder said. “But just to let people know there is an actual or there will be an actual cemetery there and it’s in the works now.”