The historic 1831 Harsimus cemetery on 6.5 acres in Jersey City is a “national treasure” but had fallen into disrepair and neglect, according to Eileen Markenstein.

The Union City resident is one of many volunteers who have been cleaning up the Newark Avenue site. On December 16, flanked with other volunteers, she asked the City Council for $30,000, 10 percent of the $300,000 necessary for the first phase of repairs.

“The cemetery contains the graves of soldiers from the Civil War, the War of 1812, World War I and II and Vietnam,” Markenstein said. “Over the last several years, it has been seriously mismanaged. Additionally, the homeless would go in and pitch tents. The caretaker’s house was overrun by drug addicts and squatters.”

In the summer of 2008, a group of volunteers began restoring the property every Saturday. “We discovered a labyrinth of underground crypts and tunnels, and remarkable military artifacts,” Markenstein said. “We fixed the caretaker’s house and now it looks beautiful.”

But more work is needed, she noted. “Please partner with us,” she pleaded with City Council members.

Councilman-at-Large Mariano Vega asked Markenstein to keep track of volunteers’ hours so that all work is documented.

Councilman Stephen Fulop praised the group’s work. “Three years ago, the grass was three-feet high in there,” he said. “It’s unbelievable, the work you’ve done.”

The City Council will be looking for funding to aid the project, he added.

For more information, or to donate, visit www.jerseycitycemetery.org.