RIVERTON, Ill. (AP) – Two major projects are underway at Camp Butler National Cemetery in Sangamon County, where about 25,000 military veterans are buried.
This summer the cemetery is undergoing a $2.1 million irrigation system installation and $2.3 million effort to realign nearly 7,000 headstones. Federal money is paying for both projects.
The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports that sprinklers should be installed by this fall but realigning the headstones will take until fall 2016. Headstones can shift due to heavy rain or freezing and thawing. Cemetery officials want them all the same heights and in a near-perfect line.
Camp Butler opened in 1861 as a place for Civil War troops. It eventually became a prisoner of war camp. It is now a cemetery where veterans are buried dating back to the Civil War.
