Official Recognition Sought for Sacred Slave Burial Ground at Drake Park in NYC

Students and teachers at P.S. 48, also known as Joseph R. Drake Elementary School, came across a startling surprise as they began investigating a single black and white photo of overgrown landscape from 1910. The mysterious photo labeled "Slave burying ground - Hunts Point Road," led the group to discover that "Hunts Point Road" once ran along what is now known as the Joseph R. Drake Park in Bronx, New York. As a once well-known signpost within the area in the 18th Century, "Old Hunts Point Road" became the burial ground of various colonial wars and continental soldiers, including members within the prominent families of Hunt, Leggett, and Willett of West Farm, Westchester County, N.Y. Specifically, in the late 1700s, Thomas Hunt (for whom the current neighborhood is named after) acquired the land and built his home on the property. Historical records seem to indicate that the slaves of early residents, such as Hunt were interred in a small enclosure directly opposite the Hunt burial site. This evidence seems to make sense given the fact that most enslaved Africans were not allowed to me buried in the consecrated ground containing the remains of the families that owned them. 

Photo Credit: Lisa W. Foderaro for the New York Times (January 25, 2014)

It is argued that in order to make room for Drake Park, the City eventually demolished the small enclosure, which interred the sacred remains of the slaves. However, there appears to be tombstone remnants on the property marking the remains of early settlers such as the Leggett and Hunt family members. It is speculated that the property even includes the remains of the celebrated author and poet, Joseph R. Drake. Through the Hunts Point Slave Burial Ground Project ("HPSBGP"), the students of P.S. 48 have attempted to commemorate the lives of the slaves by advocating for preservation and official recognition of the site within the City. This issue becomes whether the site will be able to obtain such official recognition. As stated by State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein, it is clear that "[t]he lives of the men, women and children who rest in peace here are part of the history of not only the Hunts Point community, but of New York at large.” Undisputably, evidence from ground penetrating radar analysis supports the conclusion that the site contains human remains within the "small enclosure"  by establishing that "anthropogenic features, suggestive of skeletal remains [lies] six-feet beneath the parkland."

 

Photo Credit: Hunts Point Slave Burying Ground Commemoration Project (2013).

Photo Credit: Hunts Point Slave Burying Ground Commemoration Project (September 23, 2013)

In response to the campaign led by HPSBGP, the NY State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation revealed in a letter that Drake Park's location permits limited visitorship. Additionally, the letter explained that a precise location of the cemetery could not be ascertained and the office did not have any evidence that when the park was acquired in 1909 remnants of a burial ground survived. It is clear from the evidence revealed through HPSBGP that skeletal remains lie within the ground of the Park. However, the office further stated that the property would be placed on a "watch list of sites of archaeological sensitivity" and the information provided by P.S. 48 would be carefully reviewed. It appears that the Parks and Recreation Office is willing to work cooperatively with the P.S. 48 group in order to honor and promote the history of the site. While forgotten for so many years, it finally appears as though the remnants of the slave individuals within the site may finally receive this long-deserved official recognition from the State of New York. 

Ashley White 

Comments

[jamesdouglas]

Wow, what a wild story about the man waking up during the embalming process. That would be so scary, yet miraculous. I wonder if the man's mind was working to know what had happened or if he had any sort of out of body beyond the veil experience that he can talk about. Death isn't the end, but I believe it is the beginning of a new life in eternity.

James | http://conboywestchesterfh.com