County historian restores West Point monument

GOSHEN — Orange County Historian Cornelia W. Bush recently announced her participation in the restoration of the Anderson Memorial Fountain, a significant historical landmark at the West Point Post Cemetery, United States Military Academy dedicated to American military leader Major General Robert Anderson, best known for his defense of Fort Sumter during the Civil War, and an 1825 graduate who is interred there.

"I'm delighted to have played a part in this important historic preservation project," said Bush. "Funerary art is often extraordinarily well-sculpted, and we have some of the finest examples of its kind here in Orange County."

The Anderson Fountain project is being underwritten in part by the Anderson estate, and its trustee JPMorgan Chase and Co. These funds will enable Major Kathleen Silva (USMA, 1980), memorial affairs officer at West Point, to complete phase one of the project, which involves drainage restoration by the Army and repointing the granite copings by the noted restoration firm Conservation Solutions, Inc. Later this spring, the bronze finial will be cleaned and waxed.

"People may be under the impression that the federal government pays for the maintenance of the tombstones and monuments at the West Point Cemetery, when in fact the families of those buried there are responsible for their upkeep," said Bush. "When family funds are non-existent or when they are exhausted, as is now the case with the Anderson Estate, the cemetery relies on private donations to care for these unique and historic grave markers."

For more information about the West Point Cemetery, including a walking tour map, visit www.westpoint.edu/visiting/SitePages/West percent20Point percent20Cemetery.aspx

For more information on restoration projects at the West Point Cemetery, including how to make contributions, contact Silvia at Kathleen.Silvia@usma.edu.