Archaeologists uncovered 17 empty graves of soldiers and expect to find 35 more in what was the National Cemetery of the mid-1800s and will be the site of a new courthouse downtown.
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"The wood (of the caskets) appeared as a stain in the soil," said Roger Anyon, program manager of the excavations. "We found fragments of bones occasionally missed" during the first exhumation of 1884, when the remains of some soldiers were moved and reburied in another cemetery, he said.
Already, the two-month-old excavation project at the site of the new courthouse has revealed 34 graves, while estimates put the total number of graves at 300 to 600, Anyon said.
Excavations are expected to end in the fall, said Linda Mayro, the county's cultural resources manager.
The site is bounded by North Toole Avenue, East Alameda Street and North Stone Avenue and was the National Cemetery, or Government Cemetery, between 1860 and 1875.
The removal of the cemetery was part of Tucson's ever-changing boundaries and continual growth.
In 1860, the area was far from existing residences. By 1875, the town had caught up, and a new cemetery was established.
At that time families were asked to remove the remains of their loved ones to the then-newly established Court Street Cemetery, at the southwest corner of Stone and Speedway, Anyon said.
The city then subdivided and sold the land without removing the remains of those whose families did not claim them, Mayro said.
The decision to unearth the downtown grave sites after years of construction over them represents a "sign of the times and increased sensitivity," County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry has said.
In addition to the soldiers, those buried on the site included Hispanic, American Indian and white residents of the city and even Canadians, according to records, Mayro said.
To do the excavation and reinterment properly, Huckelberry said, the county and the Arizona State Museum have worked with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, descendant groups and American Indian tribes.
In 1942, two years after the Tucson Citizen and Arizona Daily Star established offices on North Stone Avenue, more than 60 graves were found when a basement was enlarged for new presses, according to Citizen archives. Intact coffins were reburied. "
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Directory of cultural resource and historic preservation firms.
Gray & Pape, Inc. Archaeology**History**Historic Preservation
Serving your cultural resources needs since 1987.
Ohio -
11-03-11
New South Associates, Inc. New South Associates is a women-owned small business providing cultural resource management services, both nationally and internationally. Our specialities include archaeology, history, architectural history, preservation planning, and public interpretati
Georgia -
03-25-11
Kerns CRM Consultants Cultural and Historical Resource Management Services
Maryland -
01-10-11
Paula S. Reed and Associates, Inc. Paula S. Reed and Associates, Inc. is a small, woman-owned corporation organized in the State of Maryland, which provides cultural resource evaluation on a nation-wide basis, specializing in National Historic Landmark nominations. We meet qualifications o
Maryland -
11-23-10
SWCA Environmental Consultants Acquires Northwest Archaeological Associates SWCA Environmental Consultants has acquired Northwest Archaeological Associates, expanding SWCA's Pacific Northwest presence with a new Seattle office offering cultural and natural resource management and environmental permitting and compliance consulting.
04-04-11
ACHP Section 106 Essentials two-day course which explains the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
02-02-11
