OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Part of the new wall at Pioneer Cemetery in Fredonia lies shattered in the sidewalk after it collapsed Sunday

A sizable section of the new Pioneer Cemetery wall in Fredonia collapsed Sunday.

It’s believed the incessant rainy weather led to the collapse, destabilizing the hill and new rock fill behind the wall. The N Mathews company of Westfield completed the wall in April after working on it throughout the winter.

The broken wall breaking news originally appeared on the village of Fredonia’s Facebook page Sunday night. However, in an apparent case of the Information Age stopped cold by 200-year-old municipal arrangements, the Facebook post had disappeared Monday morning. Fredonia does not oversee Pioneer Cemetery, though it’s near the heart of the village on East Main Street. The burial ground actually predates the incorporation of Fredonia as a village, and is run by the town of Pomfret.

The Pomfret Town Board approved the wall project in September for a cost of $195,285. It was on Pomfret’s agenda for years. Town officials wanted to do it in 2022 but backed away because, at that time, it would have led to a tax raise.

Pomfret Town Supervisor Dan Pacos didn’t immediately return a Monday morning message seeking comment on the situation.