Vandals knocked over 44 headstones, damaged a street lamp and stole a new U.S. flag this past weekend at the city of Vancouver’s Old City Cemetery.
City officials said the damage is estimated at $8,000.
One of the grave markers was broken and will need to be replaced, as will the street lamp. A neighbor recovered the flag. The other headstones will need to be righted.
“The real impact exceeds that,” said Vancouver Director of Public Works Brian Carlson in a statement. “This vandalism costs our community, impacts the families of those buried there and harms a solemn, historic site.”
The Old City Cemetery, bounded by Mill Plain Boulevard, Grand Boulevard, East 13th Street and Z Street, is one of the oldest in the state and is the burial site of many of Vancouver’s pioneer families, going back to Esther Short.
Anyone with information about the malicious mischief is asked to call 911 to assist in the Vancouver Police Department investigation.
