02/23/2026
ACGS & FCHSM Come Together In A Day of Clean-Up
Join the American-Canadian Genealogical Society (ACGS) and the French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan (FCHSM) for a clean-up day at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Ecorse, Michigan on May 15th from 2pm to 7pm local time. Interested volunteers can sign up here.
The cemetery, established in 1848, is the resting place of many early French-Canadian and Canadian residents of the Downriver (Ecorse, River Rouge, etc) area of Detroit. Due to the age of the graves, there is much that can be done to clean up the gravestones and the grounds. Held in conjunction with FCHSM's "D?troit 325th-Anniversary Conference: Indigenous and French of Detroit" hosted at the Detroit Historical Museum on May 16th, this event is open to all. St. Francis Xavier Cemetery was at one time the burial ground for the St. Francis Xavier Church, and the clean-up day is held with the support of the parish of St. Andre Bessette Church.
Volunteers attending should ideally plan to bring items such as work gloves, brushes with poly bristles, plastic or wood scrapers or picks, buckets, water sprayers or watering cans, and rakes or trash grabbers if they have them. The hosts will provide guidance on how to safely clean gravestones, direction for areas of focus within the cemetery, and some supplies for sharing such as trash bags.
To sign up please go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0449AEA728A2F9C25-62133651-stfrancis
