Descendant Graves in Ft. Ward Park

March 11, 2014

To: Chuck Zeigler, chairman of the SAG

From: Frances Terrell, Lena Rainey, and Adrienne Washington, members of SAG

RE: Descendant graves in Ft. Ward Park

In response to your inquiry about the descendants’ and church members’ concerns about the status of the city’s incomplete investigations of the lost graves in Ft. Ward Park, we have listed a number of items which we feel haven’t been and should be addressed in the draft management plan. As we have stated numerous times publicly and in writing, we have asked for three main issues to be corrected: the stormwater runoff, the lost graves and incorporation of “The Fort” African American presence in this historical park.  

1. Continued archeological research in the maintenance –now “utility” – area where numerous oral histories were given with certainty that graves existed. Using better technology and digging below surface fill that city placed over the years.
2. Continued archeological research before any digging to implement the city’s proposed stormwater drainage plan.
3. Continued archeology in other areas of the park which oral histories and documents indicate graves existed, including the Craven site, the Javins site, inside and around the fort on the former McKnight property, the ravine area north of the Oakland Baptist Cemetery, the Shorts-McKnight knoll, the Peters site, Ashby site, and the Good Samaritan cemetery.
4. Reincorporating the graves in the so-called “Old Cemetery” back into the Oakland Baptist Cemetery, where oral history from former OBC trustees indicates they belong.
5. A definitive declaration from city leaders and staff that no structures will be built or placed on redesigned “sensitive areas,” to include the above named sites, without prior notification to descendants as well as members of the Oakland Baptist Church leadership.
6. A final definitive statement about the status of archeological investigations in all of Ft. Ward Park. The management plan states that the archeological investigation is completed and there is a permanent map which designates “sensitive areas” therefore giving city department heads permission to proceed with “ground disturbing action” or plans to dig in the park to plant trees, relocate picnic areas and playgrounds and build other structures such as new parking lots and bus lanes. But at public meetings, as recently as this week, the city’s acting archeologist assured an audience that the archeological work at Ft. Ward is ongoing.” The draft management plan also states that “the city cannot assume there aere no undocumented graves north and west of Oakland Baptist Cemetery.” More contradiction? Which is it? As far as we can tell, there never was a completion of Phase 3 of the city originally investigative agreement. How can the management plan suggest that it is all right for the city to proceed when it acknowledges that there is more research to be done?    
7. In all the archeological investigations thus far, we have been told that inadequate testing methods were used to locate unmarked graves. We would like the investigations to be conducted with modern, acceptable methods and technology.   
8. The original SAG chapter recommendations, which do not appear to be incorporated into the draft management plan, called for specific historical interpretation projects and programs to commemorate the African American presence in Ft. Ward. The draft management plan only mentions suggested options for these items. There should be concrete assurance, as promised, that memorial stones will be placed on the discovered graves, a memorial structure should be placed to commemorate those undiscovered gravesites and a permanent exhibit within the museum about the African American presence at Ft. Ward.
9. We are still interested in the city investigation what happened to the countless number of headstones that oral histories indicate were removed from the park.