Excavations continue at old cemetery site

5/24/2005

Excavations are continuing this week at an old cemetery discovered at a construction site along River Road in Maumee.

Crews have found 44 bodies at the cemetery so far, said G. Michael Pratt, director of the Center for Historic and Archaeology at Heidelberg College and head of the excavations.

The remains are being moved to the Lucas County coroner s office, where they will be stored until being reburied in a local cemetery.

Workers have been searching for bodies at the site for more than three weeks, and have removed two trees to allow access to some of the wooden coffins.

The first body was found accidentally on April 14 by construction crews who were preparing to build Riverside Commons, an upscale housing development.

Experts believe the site was used as a cemetery for the poor during the late 19th century. For many years, the Miami Children s Home operated on the property.