NEWBURYPORT — The city planning department, working with the Newburyport Black History Initiative (NBI), will honor black residents who were buried in the historic African American section of the Old Hill Burying Ground this month.
“All these men, women, and children were distinct individuals who were recognized during their lifetime, even if their names have been forgotten today. These granite markers will serve as a means to locate their burial sites,” wrote Senior Planning Director Geordie Vining in announcing the unveiling of the plaque and stone on May 21.
The unmarked graves will now have a bronze plaque to tell visitors who is believed to be buried there and individual granite markers that bear the words, “Once Known”.
The bronze 12- by 24-inch plaque, with the title HISTORIC AFRICAN AMERICAN SECTION, will state: “THIS AREA HAS A CONCENTRATION OF GRAVES AND STONE MARKERS FOR BLACK MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN BURIED IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES. THERE ARE ALSO MANY UNIDENTIFIED GRAVES HERE, FOUND BY GROUND PENETRATING RADAR, WHICH ARE NOW MARKED ‘ONCE KNOWN’ – ALL WERE INDIVIDUALS KNOWN IN THEIR DAY EVEN IF WE NO LONGER KNOW THEIR NAMES TODAY. THIS SECTION OF THE CEMETERY IS ACROSS THE STREET FROM AN HISTORIC BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD CALLED “GUINEA VILLAGE” DURING THAT ERA.”
2. Batten Bros – revised proof – Historic African Section Plaque (002) 2-29-24
Eighteen unmarked graves will be marked with 6-inch by 6-inch by 6-inch granite stones engraved with the words “Once Known.”
Ed Balsky from GeoSource in Sterling was hired to use ground-penetrating radar to discover the bodies buried in unmarked shallow graves in a 75 by 75-foot area of the historic cemetery.
Six graves in the area are marked with headstones. Most have been identified to be black residents from their inscriptions and old records.
Bethany Groff Dorau, director of the Museum of Old Newbury, local historian Ghlee Woodworth and Vining, who supervised the search for graves, believe that the bodies discovered close to the Auburn Street entrance to the cemetery belong to African Americans.
Vining said the black residents were buried here because Newburyport was too small to have a separate black cemetery.
The Newburyport Black History Initiative received financial assistance from the Community Preservation Act for the ground radar tests and private donations. The Newburyport Lions Club, First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist church and several individual donors contributed more than $5,000 to help fund the creation of the “Once Known” markers and plaque in the cemetery.
The cemetery event will be held at 3 p.m. on May 21 opposite 22 Auburn St.. Park on the street, remembering not to block driveways. The event will feature speeches from Mayor Sean Reardon, Rev. Rebecca Bryan from First Religious Society, Woodworth, Vining and other community leaders.
To contribute to the project, checks can be made to the City of Newburyport, Newburyport City Hall, c/o Geordie Vining, senior project manager, 60 Pleasant Street, Newburyport, MA 01950.
