The old South Street Cemetery, where some Revolutionary War dead are buried. The town recently repaired the stone walls here. Robert Lowell / American Journal

Gorham municipal officials are taking a step toward righting historic tombstones that have been ravaged by weather and time.

Toppled gravestones are shown at Gorham’s Eastern Cemetery. Contributed / Dennis Morton

The Town Council last week authorized forming a seven-member Cemetery Advisory Committee. The panel will offer recommendations about caring for the town’s public cemeteries within available resources.

Founding families and their descendants are interred in several of the public cemeteries.

Resident Dennis Morton, who has early forebears buried in town, brought forward the need of repairing and cleaning in addition to repositioning toppled stones. Morton said Eastern Cemetery, between Main Street and New Portland Road, has about 40 stones needing to be reset.

“I’m not looking to blame anyone,” said Morton, who is willing to serve on the committee.

Public Works mows the cemeteries, maintaining about 30 acres across 15 cemeteries, according to Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak.

“We spend about $33,000 a year on direct expenses,” Paraschak said, “but obviously there are costs associated with maintenance and purchase of mowers, transportation and one-time capital projects beyond that.”

Well-intended volunteers in the past upset some families by cutting shrubbery at gravesites, Paraschak said.

Paraschak said the new committee could branch out with town-approved volunteers working in cemeteries.

Morton said volunteers could clean stones and he would like the committee to inspect every public cemetery and create a list of all stones that need repairs. “Its amazing how many are tipped over,” Morton said, adding that he didn’t see any evidence of vandalism. “It’s frost in the ground.”

A grave is shown in Sapling Hill Cemetery on Route 237 in Gorham. Contributed / Dennis Morton

At last week’s meeting, Town Councilor Janet Kuech said she would like the committee to include an inventory of any native peoples’ burial grounds in town, if there are any. Native Americans were prevalent when settlers began arriving in 1736 in the area, which at the time was a Massachusetts land grant known as Narragansett No. 7.

Many of the town’s cemeteries were previously managed by associations, but the town inherited them in recent years as the groups declined.

For example, the cemetery on Fort Hill – where many of the town’s earliest inhabitants of the garrison are buried – had no funds, according to town cemetery records. Other cemeteries provided some minimal money for partial care when the town assumed care of them.

Condition of stones is not the town’s fault, Morton said.

Morton said he doesn’t think many repairs will be costly. “We’re not talking a bunch of money,” he said.

Paraschak said the advisory committee will have town support. “If citizens would like to be part of this, it would be great,” Town Council Chair Suzanne Phillips said during last week’s meeting.

Those interested in serving on the committee should call the Town Clerk’s Office at 222-1670 or the Town Manager’s Office, 222-1650.