Knights of Pythias Greenwood Cemetery Relocation Project View

Knights of Pythias Greenwood Cemetery Relocation Project

View of 44 Acre Property Overgrown and Neglected Cemetery (25 acres) Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Condition of Cemetery • Area overgrown with vegetation and trees. – Visibility restricted to 10 -15 feet in some areas • Used as a dumping ground. – Construction debris, areas w/ more than 20 feet of fill – Abandoned cars – Littered with trash • Inhabited by delinquents who toppled headstones.

Condition of Cemetery • Buried construction debris creates challenges to archaeologists. – Differentiating between cement scrap and headstones • Requires trenches to be dug to insure no burials underneath.

Initial Site Mapping and Clearing • Archeologists use surveying tools to accurately plot lines. • CAD system to plot known burials and paths. • Local contractor hired to clear overgrowth.

Headstone Removal • Delicate process taken to remove overgrowth around burials. • Use GPS to catalogue each headstone then moved to storage to prevent damage. • Temporary stake at each lot to identify burials. • Final vegetation removal around lot to prepare for disinterment.

Burial Relocation Process • Excavator used to remove top layer of soil. • Remaining top soil removed by hand, then using various hand tools, remains are extracted. • All bones/artifacts are catalogued, along with any identifiable characteristics. • Remains/artifacts placed in container and reinterred into a large vaults in front of cemetery where location is recorded.

Progress to Date • 1, 200 out of 3, 000+ burials relocated. • Parcels cleared of vegetation and debris. • Tree buffer remains along north side of parking lot. • Burial relocation in process (35 to 50 burials per day). • 40 archaeologists on site.

Progress to Date

CTCA Parking Expansion Update • Construction documents completed for parking expansion • Awaiting final permits from PWD and DEP. • Lot construction to begin this winter and finish in April. • Additional 220 spaces for CTCA

Historic House Update Restoration Phases • Phase One - House Survey, Photographic and Drawn Documentation and testing – Complete • Phase Two – Focused Research for Interim Restoration/Stabilization – Complete • Phase Three – Preparation of Concept Documents and Narrative – In Process • Phase Four – Preparation of Contract Documents and Specifications – In Process

Architectural / Research Status • Physical research completed (dendrochronology, mortar testing, frame and structure analysis) • Historical research ongoing Timeline: • Design development documents for house – (9/30/2009 to 10/20/2009) • Construction documents for house – (10/22/2009 to 11/11/2009) • Construction/Renovation – (11/18/2009 to 11/18/2010) • Demolition of non-historic structures – (10/10/2009)

Restored Entry Way

Restored House

After Before Restored Grounds

Overall Benefits • $1 million commitment towards the restoration, preservation and protection of the visible portion of cemetery as perpetual community green space • Stabilization of the Benjamin Rush House • Meet the needs of CTCA Patients and Caregivers with new Guest Quarters, clinical expansion, and additional parking. • Provide additional economic stimulus to community in terms of more jobs and capital expenditures