LAURINBURG — In November, more than 30 tombstones were removed at Stewartsville Cemetery. But now, volunteers are needed to return them to their rightful place.

On Saturday, Feb. 26, volunteers will be gathering to put the various headstones back.

The tombstones were moved so that the historical markers — some dating back well over 100 years — wouldn’t be damaged when crews came in to remove two large, diseased oak trees.

“The trees were removed around December and they were rotted through,” said local historian Bill Caudill. “It’s actually surprising with the amount of rot that they didn’t fall and damage the stones and the gravesites, but now we have to put the stones back where they belong.”

When the stones were moved, each was marked with a number that correlated with a flag marking where the stone should be returned to. While it only took about four hours in the fall for the 14 volunteers to remove the stones, Caudill is expecting it to take a bit longer to return them.

“It will all depend on what the turnout will be that day,” Caudill said. “Putting them back might be more of a challenge than taking them out was, so we might have to split this into two days. But we’re hoping we’ll be able to get it done in one. No matter what, though, we’ll be getting them back where they belong.”

For those interested in volunteering, Caudill suggested bringing gloves, wearing closed-toe shoes and if volunteers wanted to bring their own tools such as shovels, it would probably be helpful.

Lunch will be provided to the volunteers.

“This cemetery has some of the founders of this community and region buried here, it’s a big part of our history,” Caudill said. “We just wanted to be able to preserve it for the generation to come.”

Those who want to volunteer can contact Caudill at 910-277-5236.

Reach Katelin Gandee at [email protected].