Back in the day, way back in the day, when I was just a young lad of fourteen or fifteen, one of my jobs was mowing the grass at a local church. The Church had a cemetery behind it, which we also mowed. The one thing that sticks out in my mind is grave maintenance. In older cemeteries where wooden coffins were used, eventually the coffin rotted away and the ground on top of the coffin subsided. We had to go up to the large pile of extra dirt and fill a trailer full, then go back to the area in question and fill in the depression. It happened quite often.
Last summer I began to notice a small area in my front yard where the ground was beginning to subside. I really didn’t think too much of it at the time. This spring, the area had grown into something like I used to see in the cemetery, which made me wonder.
Depressed area in the front lawn
It may be a little difficult to tell from this picture (it is hard to take a picture of a depression), but the area is roughly six and one half feet by three feet and it is down a good 6 inches in the middle. I drew a box around it. It faces due south, which also makes me think it is man made. I was always told that graves should face east, but apparently that is not necessarily so.
European settlement began around here in 1680, the town itself was founded in 1703 and land ownership can be traced back the “Great Transfer /Groote Transport) land grant in 1728 by the crown. This general area was a part of at least two farms dating from around 1810. It would not be at all unusual for there to be a family grave or burring ground somewhere on the property. Many times those graves were unmarked, the information passed down from one generation to the next. The original farm house was across the street where the field is now, the foundation stones and wells still exist. This area is about 75 feet away from the old house. I believe that house was abandoned sometime in the late 1940’s in favor of the one at the end of the street.
I will ask down at the farm house and see if anyone knows anything. If another spot like this develops nearby, it is almost certainly a burring ground. Lends new meaning to “Knowing where the skeletons are.” What to do about it, I just don’t know.
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It could be a grave…Or maybe it’s a privy…I’d check with the local historical association and see if they know anything. How close is it to a paved roadway? Where I live (Missouri) the Dept. of Transportation is required to file an impact report that lists things like waterways, animal habitats, etc. but also things of historical significance, such as known cemeteries. You might check there, too.
Ah, a privy, I hadn’t thought of that. It is a town road that used to be a driveway. In fact, the way the deed description reads, we own to the center of the road, although I think the town has “taken” that property to establish the right of way.
Digg it up!! I’d have to know for certain. Plus, I’m enthralled by the possibility of a you finding a grave.
Definitely. Dig it up. How much does a back-hoe cost to rent these days from the local rent-a-center?
It seems like you could raise that much out of pure curiosity…
;)
The town road piece could be a clue, culverts used to be made from hollowed logs. Other sinking ground experiences from colonial era states to your east – family burial plots, buried stumps, old dug well or cistern, maybe a new underground spring?
Last time I rented a back hoe it was about $400.00 including fuel and transport. Steve raises some good points, it could well be any one of those things. I am still curious though…
*shudder* the idea of finding unmarked graves in my yard gives me the willies. Considering how old the area is, could be. Up here in New England, we find similar things and sometimes they even end up being old compacted fire pits or storage areas.
I agree with Ethan…dig it up!
It sure looks like it could be a grave. You wouldn’t be the first to find someone buried in your yard. In 2004, construction workers found 13 18th-century coffins containing the remains of 16 infants and children during a renovation of a house in Philadelphia.
http://utica.edu/ucpioneers/news.cfm?featureaction=detail&id=1138
“they found this couple out in California they would rent out rooms to old people and then kill em and bury em in the yard and cash their social security checks. They’d torture them first, I don’t know why.
Maybe their television set was broke.”
I have $25 on it. I will mail it to you in cash :)
try dowsing the spot. I have done this myself and it truly works.Made mine out of coat hangers.
I know that there is some xray device that can be used to scan the ground, without digging. See if the local authorities can help.
did you find out anything about the spot?
If nothing else, it has gotten a little deeper, but more irregular. I am waiting to see what develops.
Could it be a septic tank or a storm shelter ?