North Branch Cemetery – Middlesex VT

Description

The Flood of 1927 brought many changes to Vermont, including the construction of several flood control dams built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC built one such dam at Wrightsville, in the northern part of Montpelier, Vermont and this project in turn required the relocation a cemetery in the effected area.

The Great Depression provided the labor needed to do the job and some CCC workers became involved with the labor to move the cemetery. Construction on the Wrightsville Dam began in July 1933, and the Vermont Public Service Commission ruled the “remains of the dead…shall be removed by the Board of the Public Works…and interred in some suitable cemetery.” Walter E. Cleveland (1895-1970) was chosen to supervise the transfer project. Active work began 4 October 1934 and the last of the 651 bodies was moved to the new site on 7 Nov 1934. The superintendent for the dam supplied CCC tools and labor but absolutely no project supervision for moving the cemetery, he insisted that be done by state workers from the State Board of Public Works. In his final report, Superintendent Walter E. Cleveland provided financial and materials data as well as information on what they found as the crew excavated the graves. He included several photos in the 1934 report.