CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Charlottesville officials are getting an update on the discovery of unmarked graves in a city park where enslaved people could have been buried.
The Daily Progress reports the city council will receive a report Monday indicating that there are 43 likely unmarked and unrecorded graves near a cemetery in Pen Park. The report comes after the city commissioned an archaeological firm to survey the site.
They could be the graves of enslaved people. The property was once owned by slaveholders, including Dr. George Gilmer, who was Thomas Jefferson’s physician.
City staff have plans to ensure the graves are not disturbed by any future projects. And the city is planning to work with historical groups to identify who may be buried in the unmarked graves.
