Studer Community Institute

Headstone realignment in process at Barrancas National Cemetery

March 5, 2015
/ Joe Vinson
/ government

Recent visitors to Barrancas National Cemetery might have noticed a lot of construction equipment and displaced headstones. That’s because the cemetery is in the middle of what’s called a “raise and realignment” process. “They’re removing a row of stones at a time, and they’re putting a concrete ribbon underground for the headstones to sit on,” said Craig LaChance, director of the cemetery. Originally named a national cemetery in 1868, Barrancas National Cemetery now has more than 30,000 interments spread over nearly 100 acres on the grounds of Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola. “As time goes on, these headstones shift and sink and come out of alignment,” said LaChance. “They’re not perfectly plumb.” That leads to recurring cemetery maintenance that can get very expensive. During the raise-realignment, the headstones are removed one row at a time, and a concrete ribbon is installed along the row. The ribbon has a 5-inch-tall “pocket” for each headstone to sit in, with enough space around the stone to make adjustments. The gaps are then filled with a gravel aggregate to secure the headstone in place. LaChance emphasized that the process takes place only around the headstones and does not involve the removal of any caskets. Because each grave plot is 10 feet long, and the caskets are only about 7 feet long, that leaves a buffer zone of about 2 feet. Irrigation lines are also located in this buffer zone. “In no way are any of the graves disturbed when we do this,” he said. Much of the sod has been damaged during this process, and LaChance said that won’t get replaced until April, to coincide with the growing season. Once completed, the raise-realignment will substantially reduce maintenance costs. The entire project is scheduled to be finished in October.

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Headstone realignment in process at Barrancas National Cemetery

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