Schools
School Construction Project Unearths Century-Old Slave Cemetery
The discovery of a historic cemetery halted the construction of the James Reese Career and Technical Center in April.
SUGAR LAND, TX -- A construction project in Fort Bend ISD that unearthed a cemetery dating back to the late 1800s has begun to yield clues to the historic significance of those unmarked graves.
Researchers who have analyzed some of the remains believe the people who were buried there were emancipated slaves forced to work in a convict labor camp.
Researchers estimated that the freed slaves who worked at the labor camp were buried there between 1878 and 1910, KIAH reported.
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“This is a story that is not often told individuals that are stuck in this kind of situation are lost very regularly to the history books,” Catrina Banks Whitley told KIAH.
Although the slaves were freed after the Civil War ended in 1865, it wasn’t uncommon for many of them to be imprisoned and farmed out to labor camps, such as the one in Sugar Land where the cane fields fueled the local economy, KTRK reported.
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In April, the Fort Bend Independent School District began construction on the $59 million James Reese Career and Technical Center, and within days uncovered more than 20 unmarked graves.
Construction was halted and the district called the Texas Historical Commission, who sent researchers to the construction site.
In the months that followed, researchers discovered more unmarked graves, bringing the total to 95.
Researchers also uncovered artifacts during the excavation such as shackles, tools and hand-made nails.
Fort Bend ISD and the City of Sugar Land are working with the Texas Historical Commission to find a place where the bodies can be reburied.
In the meantime, officials said it could take another 90 days to exhume all the bodies and artifacts at the construction site.
RELATED: 24 Bodies Unearthed During School Construction
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