City, historians at odds over how to approach possible Black grave sites at bridge project

A conceptual design of the proposed Henry Street bridge spanning the White River, called "Circle City Gateway." (Image courtesy of Indianapolis Department of Public Works)

On the east bank of the White River near downtown Indianapolis, the grounds of a former 19th century cemetery that could contain the remains of early African American residents in Indianapolis is part of the construction site for the planned Henry Street bridge.

That’s raised concerns among several historians—including one at Indiana Landmarks—that Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration says it’s working to address.

On Monday, the Department of Workforce Development said that if any remains are unearthed, it will halt construction. And on Tuesday, officials said they are considering alternative excavation methods to address remaining questions. But the historians are calling on the administration to do a full archaeological dig before the city breaks out any heavy machinery.

The Henry Street bridge, which is expected to cost between $15 and $20 million, is part of a development agreement involving Elanco Animal Health Inc., the city of Indianapolis and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The bridge is a key part of a deal that will bring Elanco’s $150 million corporate headquarters to the site of the former General Motors stamping plant near White River State Park. When complete, the bridge will connect the future home of Elanco and the proposed Eleven Park project to downtown Indianapolis, along with The Valley neighborhood.

A public meeting on the bridge project and an archaeology plan is scheduled for Tuesday from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m at Biltwell Event Center. The meeting was initially slated to reveal the chosen bridge design but will now focus on details of the archaeology plan.

City officials say they are fully aware of the history of the site north of Kentucky Avenue, which once was home to a portion of Greenlawn Cemetery (also known as the City Cemetery and Union Cemetery) from 1821 until burials were stopped there in the late 1800s. But they say the remains of thousands of people who were buried at the cemetery, including 1,300 Union soldiers and 1,600 Confederate soldiers, were eventually moved to Crown Hill Cemetery and other burial grounds. 

Hogsett administration officials say they plan to have an archaeologist on site during construction who would flag signs of burial. If that happens, the process of excavation would slow, said Cassie Reiter with engineering consulting firm Crawford, Murphy and Tilly.

If remains are found, all work would halt within 100 feet of the discovery and workers would contact law enforcement and the state division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. The site would be secured and tented, while remains are documented with GPS locations, Reiter said. 

Department of Public Works Director Brandon Herget said that is the city’s initial plan but the details could change one the project is bid and a vendor hired.

Already, the city has established a team of archaeologists, researchers, archivists and historians, Reiter said. The area defined as the cemetery site makes up just 10% of the project, she added.

While city officials are saying “if” bodies are found, historians are saying “when.” 

Eunice Trotter, director of the Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program, said she found a fragment of what she believes to be a headstone during a walk last week on the parcel along the White River.

She and Leon Bates, both Black historians, say there could be anywhere from hundreds to thousands of African Americans buried in the construction area. While there are documents recording the remains of the Civil War soldiers being removed from the site, there is no recorded transfer of African American remains to a new location, the historians said.

“If they don’t move those remains, then they’re just paving over them,” Bates said.

During the course of other construction projects—as recently as 1986—historic remains were uncovered in the area. The discovery of remains tells Bates and Trotter that the previous excavators did not do a very good job and likely did not excavate and reinter the bodies within the bounds of the cemetery.

Trotter called the plan to have an archaeologist at the site during construction “one of the most ridiculous propositions” she has heard. She’s concerned that heavy machinery could reduce remains that have been in the ground for nearly two centuries to dust. 

Instead, she’s asking for an archaeological dig using shovels. 

“There is so much opportunity to miss remains using a backhoe,” Trotter told IBJ.

Herget said the Department of Public Works has heard the historians’ concerns, especially about what traditional excavation might do to that site. “And so our team is working on identifying what alternatives for excavation could look like that would be respectful,” he said.

Final decisions will not be made on excavation until a contractor is chosen from a request for proposals, which has not yet been issued, he said.

Trotter noted that Indiana Landmarks is not against the overall development, which includes the bridge, the Elanco campus and Eleven Park, which is slated to be built on the former Diamond Chain Co. plant site.

However, if historian Bates had his way, the entire 25-or-so-acre Greenlawn Cemetery site would be turned into a park and “left alone.” But he said he knows that a compromise is necessary, so he’s also supportive of an archaeological dig.

Judith Thomas, deputy mayor of neighborhood engagement, noted the history of the area and said city officials are being “very careful” about the potential archaeological recovery of remains. Thomas and other city officials have met with Black historians, including Bates and Trotter, which she said will inform the process and ultimately the plans to commemorate the history of the area.

“The fact that I had relationships with the three people that were at the table was important to me, because they were going to educate us and help move us in the right direction,” Thomas told IBJ.

Any remains found will be examined by a biological archaeologist Jeremy Wilson at IUPUI. An advisory committee will also be established to oversee and guide the process.

The city will also have to decide an appropriate way to commemorate any individuals found at the site and determine a respectful place to reinter the remains.

“Our intent is to pull together some sort of advisory committee or some sort of group of members to help us make those decisions,” Herget said. “We don’t want to make those decisions in a vacuum.”

Thomas said space on the bridge will be reserved for public art, with the possibility of markers near the site of the cemetery.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the city to tell that story, no matter how uncomfortable it may be in the beginning,” she said.

Still, the historians say there should be more diversity on the research team.

“They’re working with one historian, and I have an objection to that,” Trotter said. “That person is not a person of color. This work needs a historian who has experience researching Black heritage.”

But city officials said the current team is not final, and there is interest in adding diversity.