BRIDGES PROJECT STUDIES FORMER CIVIL WAR CEMETERY
On Tuesday, Aug. 30, consultants working on the Ohio River Bridges Project initiated an archaeology study to determine if there are any burial remains at Colston Park, a former Civil War and city cemetery in downtown Jeffersonville. Although the Bridges Project will not take any part of the cemetery, Indiana law mandates that disturbances within 100 feet of a cemetery require the preparation of a development plan to address the encroachment.
“This study is very important to ensure that any project work does not disturb any existing remains at Colston Park. Our goal, and the goal of Indiana and Kentucky officials, is to minimize the impact of the Bridges Project on historic resources in the community,” commented Jeff Vlach, Environmental Commitments Manager with Community Transportation Solutions (CTS-GEC), the General Engineering Consultant on the Bridges Project.
A historical marker at the park describes the cemetery and indicates that the buried Confederate and Union soldiers were not moved before the area became a park in 1920. United States government records contradict that, however, and denote that the bodies were moved. Also, local records indicate that the area served as a city cemetery as early as 1807. Thus, further study to delineate the western boundary of the cemetery is needed.
The consultants used above-ground, non-invasive instruments that employ magnetic and electrical resistivity methodology to determine if there are grave shafts. The instruments detect soil that has been removed and replaced because it is not as compact, or dense, as the soil surrounding it.
Colston Park is located just east of I-65 and north of Market St. in downtown Jeffersonville. It can be accessed at the intersection of Mulberry and W. Chestnut streets.
Historic preservation personnel from CTS-GEC are overseeing the investigation. Consultants from the ASC Group, Inc., and Ohio Valley Archaeology Consultants, Ltd., cultural resource management firms based in Ohio, will be executing the field studies. The project team is coordinating this effort with the City of Jeffersonville and historic preservation officials with the Indiana Historic Preservation Office, Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT).
The Bridges Project public involvement effort includes Historic Preservation Advisory Teams in each state. Project team members meet with the groups regularly to review project work and ensure that historic mitigation measures are being addressed properly.
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