University of Maine at Presque Isle Cemetery Mapping Progresses

Posted by admin on Oct 27, 2009

A project between the University of Maine at Presque Isle and the Fairmount Cemetery Association that is now halfway complete will link generations of the past with the future.

The project is thought to be the first large-scale, comprehensive cemetery mapping with GPS and GIS technology in Maine. The goal is to create a cemetery GIS database for historic, cultural and social research that offers access to anyone on the Internet and that will serve as a model for cataloging historic and cultural landmarks.

During the first phase of the project, students collected data at the Fairmount Cemetery, which was established in the 19th century and is one of the oldest and largest graveyards in northern Maine. The data included gravesite lot and plot numbers, names of the interred, birth and death dates, gender, military-civilian service and more from 2,200 lots and more than 10,000 plots. All the lots and plots have been mapped with GPS and GIS technologies, and all the stones have been photographed.

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