No Mass Graves Found At Gowanus School Site, State Says

GOWNAUS, BROOKLYN — The future site of a school in Gowanus doesn't contain mass graves dating back to the Revolutionary and Civil wars, a state archaeological dig has found.

The state's Division for Historic Preservation of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation shared its findings in a letter to the city's School Construction Authority after a group of advocates and elected officials suggested it could be an historic burial ground.

Diggers did unearth some 19th-century artifacts from the site, near Ninth Street and Third Avenue. But no human remains or evidence of burials were found that would prevent the construction of the school.

"Based on the information provided, no historically significant archaeological deposits or features were encountered and no human remains or evidence of human burials were identified," Philip Perazio, an analyst with the archaeology unit, wrote Friday in a letter to the School Construction Authority.

The area around the plot of land was the site of the 1776 "Battle of Brooklyn," during which 400 soldiers from Maryland held off British soldiers long enough for George Washington to escape to Manhattan. The British are said to have buried the bodies of the "Maryland 400" in a mass grave near the site.

Historians were intrigued that the site may contain the bodies of some of those legendary soldiers

And earlier this month, The New York Times reported on the diary of a 19th-century slave-owner who lived near the site. In the diary, he described the death of a young slave, whom he buried on his land.

A group of leaders in Brooklyn said the site must be investigated further before a school could be built.

"I support building more schools to alleviate school overcrowding," State Sen. Jesse Hamilton said at the site in August. "But we cannot have a school built on a foundation of ignorance. We cannot ask our children to understand history if we do not.

"I call on the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation to honor the slaves and the veterans of this site. Honor their memory. Honor their contributions to out history."

A preliminary dig was conducted over the summer, and the environmental firm AKRF conducted another dig in September to see what was buried beneath the land.

Archaeologists uncovered a well, cistern, privy and piece of a farmhouse brick wall at the site.

"No evidence of human remains or grave shafts was observed anywhere within the Phase 2 work area," wrote Elizabeth D. Meade, a technical director and archaeologist at AKRF in a letter to the state parks office summarizing its findings.

"It is therefore exceedingly unlikely that intact 18th century archaeological sites or human remains are located on the project site."

You can read the two letters below.

Here is the letter from the environmental firm summarizing its findings:

And here was what the state told the city's School Construction Authority about the site:

Lead photo by Marc Torrence, Patch Staff