June 26, 2009 4:59 pm

Future of Norwalk’s Past:Developing a Master Plan for the Mill Hill Historic Site

From a press release:

The Norwalk Historical Society invites you�to a presentation and discussion about the�master planning process for the Mill Hill Site and Cultural Facility-The Future of Norwalk’s Past:Developing a Master Plan for the Mill Hill Historic Site

June 30th, 6:30-8:00pm�at Mill Hill Historic Park, 2 East Wall Street, Norwalk

Planners and designers from�AKRF�and�Museum Insights�have scheduled this open meeting during a two-day intensive information gathering effort. The intent of this meeting will be to both provide the community with information about the planning process, to hear your initial ideas and concerns, and to let community members know how to participate in the process.

history buff

Can’t wait to see some new ideas for Mill Hill. It is a hidden gem that few visit, yet it can be the centerpiece to the historic attractions that will be a growing part of Norwalk’s economy in the future.
Secondhand Rose

I’d like to see some archeological digs going on and some examination of a few of the graves in that historic cemetery. There’s been speculation for years that the site holds the unmarked graves of a few Norwalk slaves.
Gravedigger

In 2002, two surveys were conducted at Mill Hill under the supervision of the CT State Archaeologist which tried to locate unmarked graves per the speculation that there are unmarked slave graves on the site. Both surveys did not find any new graves. Part of the site has ten feet of fill and the ground penetrating radar equipment used would not have shown anything beyond the fill layer.

Archaeologists and others have reviewed the tombstones on the site and demographic data has been collected and stored electronically for analysis, as has information on the carvers who carved many of the Colonial Period stones. As far as an archaeological dig of graves, it is unlikely that the State Archaeologist, the Norwalk Historical Commission or the Norwalk Historical Society would permit disturbing the graves unless there was a compelling reason to do so.
Secondhand Rose

Oh well….
Old Timer

Rose:
I would bet that slaves were buried someplace else, probably in unmarked graves, on the respective owner’s property. The mindset that allows someone to purchase and own someone else does not allow for the dignity or respect of burial next to community leaders.
Secondhand Rose

It’s a possibility, but there is at least one slave in a marked grave buried in the East Norwalk Cemetery. And there has been supposition for decades that unmarked slave graves existed at Mill Hill. Of course, when they did the archaeological dig in 2002, they only focused on one area instead of many areas, so those graves could still be there (if they ever existed to begin with).
Anonymous

#5 – I’m sorry, I disagree.

Onesimus Brown who was a slave owned by the Comstock family is buried up in New Canaan in the Canoe Hill Cemetery in the family plot near his mistress Phoebe. The Comstock family was rather prominent in Norwalk. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?

It was quite common for families with larger land holdings to bury family members on their property, so if someone buried a slave on their property, it wasn’t necessarily because they didn’t care enough to put them in the cemetery. John Reed, one of the early settlers is buried on private property, which used to be the Reed family farm.

Regarding the unmarked graves…well in the early records of the Town, they didn’t record where they interred the deceased. Sometimes, the deceased were not even mentioned in the paper, (case in point) the Rev. Absolom Day, a prominent Norwalk citizen. When his wife died, there was an extensive obit, but nothing for him. Go figure.

Anyway, back to gravestones. Early settlers may not have marked the graves for whatever reasons, some say they didn’t want the natives to know how many may have died during the year, or they may have been marked with markers that either deteriorated, such as wood or fell over and were buried over time. Pine Island has about 1,000 stones that were accounted for in the 1930′s Hale study, but a search of the death records turned up an additional 800 burials that are unmarked at this time. The fact that they are currently unmarked does not mean that they weren’t marked at one time, nor does it mean that they will remain that way. Stones are being located, repaired and set upright as the restoration work goes on. Some we may never know and they will remain known only to God. There were stones that were moved from their original locations and we may never be able to locate the original burial shaft.

Your bet “that slaves were buried someplace else, probably in unmarked graves, on the respective owner�s property. The mindset that allows someone to purchase and own someone else does not allow for the dignity or respect of burial next to community leaders” is really misleading because it paints all those early residents with a very large brush without a shred of evidence. It also reinforces an attitude of superiority and racism that may not have existed, or if it did, may not have been nearly as prevalent as you may suppose.
Secondhand Rose

What you say is true, #7, but it is also pretty much a fact that no one honestly knows where most of Norwalk’s black population was buried at any given time between 1641 and the present day. There are virtually no black burials recorded in Hale that anyone is aware of, and aside from Onesimus, the only other marked slave grave is the one in the East Norwalk Cemetery, of a slave named Ellen. I’m curious to know where the rest of Norwalk’s black population have been buried; aren’t you?

And I was also once told by an elderly Jewish gentleman who has since died that there was a Jewish workers’ cemetery that once existed behind St. John Cemetery on Riverside Avenue, but that the records have been completely lost and the land used in the present as different Jewish cemetery, so that no one really knows whether the previous workers’ cemetery ever really existed at all. I think it would be exicting to find out whether that workers’ cemetery rumor is true as well.
Old Timer

Marking graves with engraved tombstones was expensive. There are probably a lot of graves that were never marked that way. Wooden markers were not uncommon, and not long lasting. The practice of burial on private property was fairly common and included both family and slaves. Where no permanent stone tombstones were erected, there may not be any sign of a burial plot. The ones that I have seen, always seem to be close to the road and the property line. There is sometimes a stone or two, but most graves were not marked unless the family was wealthy. The burial plot itself is frequently marked with some enclosure to keep it seperate from the rest of the property.
Anonymous

A number of African Americans are buried at Pine Island, some are at Union, others at Riverside. If you recall, the Hale listing did not include the person’s race, just the inscription on the stone if one was standing when the study was done. The only indications of a person’s race was in the death records, which are on file in City Hall. And the very early records, which are done by either school district or street, often do not indicate race. Once again, may I point out that in the early years, they did not indicate where the deceased were interred, just that they died.

Many of the former “worker’s” cemeteries were for members of the American socialist party, which did not have the longevity that it expected and the cemeteries were later sold to Jewish groups. This happened in Fairfield and appears to have happened in Norwalk also. . The plot map for St. John’s goes right up to the river embankment. The cemetery that you are referring to is not behind St. John’s, but next to it. There is a cemetery in the front and then Beth Israel of Westport now owns the plot area behind the front one. There is also a smaller cemetery belonging to the synogogue on East Avenue across the street.

The real question is where is the almshouse cemetery? Another Jewish cemetery was also listed in Hale as not being found. Maybe that’s the one that you are thinking of.
Secondhand Rose

Thanks for the clarification, #10.
Anonymous

Who cares about the future of Mill Hill? Let’s revisit ancient disputes over who’s buried where and nurse long-held grudges. While you idiots are riding the misery-go-round, I’ll be at Mill Hill tomorrow to try and suggest some positive ways to help the City improve the gateway to Wall Street.
Secondhand Rose

I’d suggest that you go back and read the first two posts, #12, but judging from your commentary they’re over your head anyway.
Anonymous

Considering only the first posting is relevant to the thread and #2 started the ball of asininity rolling, maybe you should take a break, unless you’re trying out for the role of Mrs. Greenpeace.
Secondhand Rose

The only “asininity” seen here is your commentary, Anonymous. Whassamatta, afraid to use a screen name because you might become accountable for your remarks?
Anonymous

Considering your nom de excr�ments, don’t you think you’re being a wee bit hypocritical?
Secondhand Rose

No, as a matter of fact I don’t.