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Council OKs moving of 2nd old cemetery |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Monday, 01 August 2005 |
Developer finds 18 unmarked graves in Little Cove area
July 27, 2005
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer
Huntsville's future is once again crossing paths with its past. For the second time this year, the City Council has authorized a developer to relocate a cemetery to make room for a subdivision.
Enfinger Development Co. discovered the latest unmarked graves in a site survey preparing for construction of a 1,000-home subdivision called McMullen Cove. The development is in the Little Cove area next to the sprawling Hampton Cove community. The site may contain at least 18 graves.
Earlier this year, developer Mark Anderson secured permission to move 68 unmarked graves for a subdivision off Old Big Cove Road. The cemetery lay buried under row crops for decades and was discovered during a site assessment of the property.
The latest action stirred protests from some residents during the City Council meeting Monday night. William Sibley and Nancy Grayson Van Valkenburg, both who have ancestors buried in the newly discovered Potts Cemetery, wondered whether the Enfinger company knew about the cemetery while planning the subdivision.
"These are cemeteries of record. You know it's there. It didn't just pop up," said Van Valkenburg.
Sibley wanted details on where the graves would be moved to.
Sandra Steele, president of Enfinger Development, said the cemetery wasn't marked and was undiscovered until a surveyor found evidence of it on a Tennessee Valley Authority map. Steele said the graves would be moved next to the historic Jenkins Cemetery within the McMullen Cove development.
Van Valkenburg said although she's pleased Enfinger seems willing to handle the reburial with respect, she regrets the graves will be moved in the first place. "The people were put there for a reason. It's their burial site," she said.
Jackie Reed, who often attends City Council meetings, said city leaders are putting development interests ahead of respect for old cemeteries.
"Leave their kinfolk alone. This is a disgrace," she said. Continuing the practice, she said, will make it harder and harder for people to trace their roots.
The Alabama Historical Commission must issue a permit before an individual or developer can relocate or otherwise disturb a burial place that is at least 75 years old.
The city must authorize the "abandonment" of a cemetery before a developer can petition the state for a permit to relocate graves.
The law requires, among other things, that a professional archaeologist or funeral home handle the removal and reinterment; that individual remains be placed in a separate container and reburied in the same configuration in the cemetery; and that permanent markers be displayed with information about the former burial site, the deceased, and possible family links.
Steele said Tuesday the site surveyor found what appeared to be 18 graves in the Potts Cemetery. Steele recalled that when plans were initially being made for McMullen Cove, references to a Potts Cemetery may have been confused with the Jenkins Cemetery since some Pottses are buried there.
"Somebody said there's a cemetery there and I said, yes we know, but we were thinking about the Jenkins Cemetery. When we got (the surveying company) to do the site assessment, they said they found on the TVA quad map there's a Potts Cemetery. That's when we started our investigation."
Steele said the Potts Cemetery lies in the middle of the planned subdivision, so building around it isn't feasible. Steele said the new location will be better in her mind because the graves will no longer be hidden by overgrowth and will be part of a cemetery that is known and kept up.
The Enfinger Co. plans to fix fencing, add landscaping and help maintain the perimeter of the Jenkins Cemetery, she said. Steele said her company would not have considered moving the cemetery if it had been marked and maintained through the years.
Site work, including roadwork and demolition of farm structures and other old buildings in the 1,600-acre development, is expected to begin in the spring. Construction on homes in the first phase should begin by next summer, Steele said.
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1122455838256830.xml&coll=1&thispage=2 |
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