City Eyes a Possible Historic Grave Site for School
A Park Slope resident spotted some trucks and equipment yesterday at the vacant lot between 8th and 9th streets, near 3rd Avenue — possibly the burial site of Revolutionary War soldiers from the First Maryland Regiment killed in the Battle of Brooklyn. Turns out the city is eyeing the space for a future school site;…
A Park Slope resident spotted some trucks and equipment yesterday at the vacant lot between 8th and 9th streets, near 3rd Avenue — possibly the burial site of Revolutionary War soldiers from the First Maryland Regiment killed in the Battle of Brooklyn. Turns out the city is eyeing the space for a future school site; makes sense considering how school overcrowding in Park Slope has been a hot-button issue recently. Over the summer, the New York Times published an article on the possibility this lot may be a historic gravesite. Bob Furman, a Brooklyn historian and president of the Brooklyn Preservation Council, has no way to test the site in question as the lot owners are interested in either selling or developing, but not any archeological propositions. Furman didn’t have any details about the trucks, either, but Kim Maier, executive director of the Old Stone House, let us know she found out the New York City School Construction Authority is conducting preliminary explorations for a potential site for a school. She notified them of the possible historic nature of the area, and they are assessing the situation. They took some soil samples and are checking to see if they are of any historical interest. Some local preservation groups hope to turn this space into a park and will seek to have it designated a Federal Historic Landmark site. You can read up on the grave site’s history right here. And check out another photo from yesterday after the jump.
Seeking Brooklyn’s Lost Mass Grave [NY Times] GMAP
this “park slope resident” must have a great lens on their camera if they can take such clear shots of gowanus. :p
Could simply be a case of mistaken identity – i.e., hipsters in skinny jeans sleeping off their PBRs.
They’re quite skeletal, you know!
The truth is, there is no good evidence of where the gravesite could be, other than speculation about how far the bodies would have been moved in one day and what rise in the land would have been suitable for a burial above the waters of the Gowanus swamplands. Since most of the lower-Slope was filled to level the avenues (the original foundation of the Old Stone House is now 15 feet below ground), it’s possible that houses were built over the gravesite as most foundations would not have gone deep enough to unearth the graves. Bob Furman may be referred to as a “historian” but he is actually a lawyer with an interest in history, and he’s certainly not an archeologist. He also has an odd choice of only suggesting vacant lots, and not built-up areas, as the possible gravesite. While there is a possibility that this is THE gravesite, the odds against it remain small. The VFW Hall right next to this lot has a bronze plaque explaining the Battle of Brooklyn and that the gravesite could be “nearby.” The plaque was supposedly moved to the VFW about 40 years ago from another location, and the inclusion of the word “nearby” may have influenced more than a few amateur historians’ idea of the location.
Brikenny is so wrong he is anonymous. The building next door is an American Legion post, not a VFW. There is plenty of evidence the Marylanders were buried nearby. Their skeletons were found when the area was built up around 1890. I am not a lawyer but a full-time historian and preservation activist. Let’s deal in facts instead of cynicism.
Thanks! I try! 😉