Thursday, May 17, 2007

Mercy! Graves found under parking lot

Who knew there was so much history in Elizabeth? Some of the work going on at Mercy Hosptial has been stopped while archaeologists dig up the 13 Revolutionary War-era graves workers found underneath the parking lot. One of the gravestones they found read: "Here lies the body of Thomas Barnet who deceas'd May The 3d, 1776, aged 22 years." (Think you have a cemetery in your back yard? Check here.)

Wonder how Mr. Barnet died. Wonder what life was like in our neighborhood back then. Did everyone add a second story to their single-story log cabin? Were cankerworms and crime dreaded? I suppose life was quite a bit different in those days. After all, Independence hadn't even been widened yet.

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