What should have been a quiet visit to honor loved ones turned into a shock for families at Oak Grove Cemetery in Uniontown this week. Relatives say they arrived to find gravesites littered with tree limbs and piles of brush, and at least one marble memorial broken. Susane Borek told reporters that her third-great-grandfather’s stone, marking Civil War veteran Robert Skyles Jacquette, was snapped in two. Cemetery staff and family members said the scene felt like a desecration of local history and vowed to push for repairs.
As reported by CBS Pittsburgh, Borek said fallen branches were piled in a way that hid the flag from her relative’s military marker. She also said cemetery supervisor Art Roll identified the tree company hired to remove hazardous limbs. Roll told KDKA-TV he tried a temporary fix on the broken stone and believes the contractor should cover the cost of proper repairs. Tree service owner Jim Gibson said his nonprofit, Jim G Complete Property Maintenance, had an agreement to leave firewood on site and planned to return to finish cleanup after a truck breakdown, according to the report.
Historic ground, thin budgets
Oak Grove, also known as the Union Cemetery of Fayette County, is the final resting place for local founders and hundreds of veterans from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam, which makes any damage to markers especially painful for descendants. The Herald-Standard has detailed the cemetery’s long history and the ongoing struggle to fund upkeep across its 15 acres. Previous coverage notes that routine maintenance often falls to a small board and volunteers, which can slow down any response when serious repair work is needed.
Tree crew's account
Roll said he hired Jim Gibson Tree Services to remove hazardous limbs, but Gibson told reporters his crew did not see any broken headstones and that mechanical issues with a truck delayed the cleanup, according to CBS Pittsburgh. Gibson said his company treats firewood as part of the payment arrangement and intended to return to haul it away. Families and Roll dispute that timeline and are pushing for documented cleanup and paid repairs.
Neighbors and the board push back
Relatives say they want the brush piles removed and damaged headstones professionally restored, and they expect both the company and the cemetery board to document any damage for reimbursement. Past reporting by WPXI shows Oak Grove has struggled before to secure steady funding for basic maintenance, which complicates any fast track for restoration.
What comes next
Cemetery leaders and families say they will demand a full cleanup and written estimates for repair work, and the board will decide whether to seek payment from the tree service or through insurance. The cemetery is run by a small, court-appointed board and leans heavily on volunteers, the Herald-Standard reports, a setup that could affect how quickly money becomes available for professional restoration.
Legal and preservation questions
Families may seek reimbursement through the cemetery board or by filing civil claims against the contractor if the damage is confirmed, although no criminal charges have been announced. Local historians and relatives said the incident highlights how vulnerable historic burial grounds can be when long-term maintenance is underfunded and largely left to a handful of people.
