Historical Artifacts Discovered At Location Of Former Medford Cemetery

MEDFORD, MA — Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn is working with the Massachusetts Historical Commission to relocate artifacts discovered buried near City Hall.

In 1950, the cemetery that stood adjacent to the hall on George P. Hassett Drive was relocated to the Oak Grove area on the border of Melrose and Malden.

According to Lungo-Koehn, “cultural artifacts” were discovered at the former site of the cemetery after a thorough archaeological search.

“As many residents are aware, from 1816 to 1950 there was a cemetery adjacent to Medford City Hall,” Lungo-Koehn said. “Members of the Medford Historic Commission were aware that the processes and procedures for relocating cemeteries during that period of time did not meet the same standards as such projects do today. As such, they advised the city that as part of the redevelopment of the Medford Square Parcels, an investigation should be undertaken to determine whether any artifacts of the cemetery remain at the site.”

The discovery was made due to work being done as part of the Medford Square redevelopment project, which aims to turn underused city-owned parking lots into housing and other upgraded parking options.