Developer drops plans to disinter remains from old Catholic cemetery site
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STEUBENVILLE -- Woda Cooper Companies has abandoned plans to build a senior citizens housing complex at the old Catholic cemetery site at the top of Washington Street hill.
City officials were notified by Woda Attorney Michael J. Shaheen over the weekend that his clients were pulling the plug, planning instead to "restore the property and leave the remains undisturbed."
In a three-page letter, emailed to Law Director Costa Mastros, Shaheen wrote that ASC Group, the archaeological consultant retained by Woda after 12 distinct sets of remains were uncovered, "now estimates that there are well in excess of one hundred (100) sets of remains, if not double that number that the diocese left behind” when the old cemetery closed in 1883.
Shaheen said they "decided not to proceed at the site due to the potential number of intact graves still located on the property," adding ASC "is working on a cemetery fill and ground restoration plan."
City Manager Mike Johnson said he was "very pleased with the decision for the human remains to be left undisturbed."
"Just because relocating human remains may be legally possible in some circumstances, the fact that something can be done does not necessarily mean that it should be done," he said Sunday. "My personal position is that, whenever reasonably possible, people should be allowed to remain at rest where they were originally buried."
Crews prepping the site for construction stopped their work in late March after they uncovered a handful of grave markers. ASC Group, the archaeological consultant tasked with assessing "the extent of the cemetery and (identifying) any potential burials," quickly discovered six distinct sets of remains once its site investigation started July 21. Woda subsequently sought Probate Judge Frank Noble's permission to disinter the remains of "96 John Does," but abruptly withdrew the petition days later. No explanation of that decision had been offered publicly, but in his letter Shaheen did note "the judge did not accept our request to meet immediately but set it for a hearing."
It wasn't until last week, after city officials pressed Shaheen and his associate, Diane G. Senakievach, for an update on Woda's plans, that they learned the Columbus-based developer had decided a month ago to walk away from the old cemetery property.
Shaheen wrote that the decision to regroup "was made Aug. 13, following an extensive meeting by and between all interested parties."
"(They) decided not to proceed at the site due to the potential number of intact graves still located on the property," he said, adding ASC "is working on a cemetery fill and ground restoration plan."
He did not explain why city officials weren't immediately notified of the decision.
Johnson said he'd reached out because there were items that must be addressed there before the onset of cold weather -- among them, repairs to sidewalks and curbing damaged during site preparation and either completing the storm sewer hookup or capping the line to reduce the risk of settlement and contamination.
In his letter, Shaheen reassured Johnson they intended to address his concerns.
"Woda Construction anticipates working with the Steubenville engineer to ensure that the stormwater situation is incorporated into any restoration," Shaheen wrote. "Once determined, Woda will, of course, contact the city engineer to discuss the physical steps of (terminating) the proposed stormwater system that is now no longer necessary. Please know that Woda Construction will also address sidewalk and curbing concerns along McDowell Avenue."
The cemetery was initially established as part of the relocation and consolidation of Catholic cemeteries from downtown Steubenville. From 1878-1880, watchman's reports submitted to the Steubenville Weekly Herald routinely reported up to five burials a month, leading local historians to project as many as 50 members of the Catholic community per year had been laid to rest there over the 51 years it was in operation.
When Mount Calvary Cemetery opened in the mid-1880s, a news item in the Steubenville Weekly Herald celebrating its opening pointed out that the old Catholic cemetery had been "filled up." Another story reported the remains of just 108 decedents had been moved to the new cemetery.
Shaheen pointed out that as soon as ASC discovered the first sets of remains they'd requested diocesan records of all disinterments and reinterments "the very next day ... in the hopes of acquiring records with regard to the cemetery."
"It is our understanding that they are still researching the proper records," he wrote.
The records search was complicated by changing diocesan boundaries: The Steubenville area was initially governed by the Diocese of Cincinnati (through 1868), when it became part of the Diocese of Columbus (1868-1947). A spokesman for the Diocese of Steubenville, established in 1947, previously said if any records remain they'd be in the archives at either the Columbus or Cincinnati dioceses.
"It is our understanding that they are still researching the proper records," Shaheen wrote.
Community opposition to disinterring the remains had been fierce, with a number of residents, including at least one prominent business leader as well as a woman who grew up knowing her grandfather's 3-year-old sister was buried somewhere in the cemetery after she drowned in a rain barrel beside her house, submitting letters of opposition to Noble.
Word that Woda planned to leave the abandoned cemetery intact was greeted with jubilation.
"I'm in tears," Flora VerStraten-Merrin, president of the Jefferson County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, said. "I am so happy — the community can make a difference. I am glad that facts were not ignored. As a genealogist and local historian and researcher, the more I and others dug into the history of the cemetery and the documented burials that were never proven to be reinterred, the stronger I felt this project needed to be abandoned."
VerStraten-Merrin said she hopes now "a fence and sign is installed recognizing the land as a Catholic pioneer cemetery."
"And (no matter who) owns the land, stipulations should be made that it should never be built upon or developed but left as a sacred pioneer cemetery," she said. "It is more of a prayer and not really a hope that that really happens. The cemetery has undergone a lot–with dirt removal and disturbing those buried there. They deserve a sign that includes the name of the cemetery, a brief history and a nice fence."