by David Flint
The Cub Scouts of Webelos Den 1 in Stephentown Pack 911 received awards last week for the great work they did last month in helping to restore a historic cemetery in North Stephentown. The Scouts are Lane Pelletier, Andrew Joyes, Wyatt Cameron and Gavin Bink. Under the direction of David Cummings, a member of the Stephentown Historical Society Cemeteries Committee and Gavin’s grandfather, the boys spent a number of hours clearing brush from the overgrown Arnold cemetery, unearthing bases and resetting toppled gravestones.
The Arnold cemetery was active from 1803 to 1870. George Arnold (1754-1829) was an early settler in Stephentown, migrating here with his wife, Mary Hopkins, from Rhode Island. In 1803 he owned 63 acres in the northeast part of the Town. According to George Baker Anderson’s Landmarks of Rensselaer County, he was an aide-de-camp to George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Thomas and Alice Sallie, on whose property the cemetery lies, were delighted with the work the boys did. They now plan to work at cleaning the stones and keeping the graveyard tidy, mowed and clear of creeping brush.
