Construction moving forward on park at historic cemetery in Brownsville

Construction is under way on a park that will be on the site of one of Brownsville’s oldest cemeteries, if not first city cemetery.

The memorial park will be across from the historic Dancy Building, which houses county offices and is the meeting place for the Cameron County Commissioners’ Court.

Human remains were discovered at the site in September 2004 during renovation of the Dancy Building on East Monroe Street.

Earlier this week backhoes were seen moving dirt at the memorial park, while portions of the fencing that will enclose it were being erected.

A different fence will continue to surround the park until construction is complete.

Architect Robert J. Ruiz said all the work being done on the park is above ground, to ensure that graves are not disturbed. The project is being monitored by archaeologist John Keller, who was contracted to examine the site after human remains were discovered.

Keller’s duty this time is to ensure that graves are not disturbed during the park’s construction.

"Everything is being done above the graves. We know for a fact that there are burial sites" still at the site, Ruiz said on Thursday.

Work on the park began in late October and is expected to be completed in 150 days.

As of Tuesday, about 15 percent of the project had been completed, according to a field report provided by Ruiz.

The park will not be a typical one that’s used for recreation, Ruiz said. It will be a passive memorial park with limited access.

In 2004 work crews unearthed hundreds of graves at the site. Findings included remains of ankles, an infant’s tooth, coffin nails, part of a headstone made out of clay marble, and a vase dating back to the late 1800s or early 1900s. Some 100 Brownsville and Mexican residents are believed to have been buried at the site between the 1870s and 1890.

The park will include green space, an irrigation system, fencing and a commemorative marker. It will be built at a cost of $163,000. According to Frank Bejarano, director of program development and management for the county, the Cameron County Commissioners’ Court agreed to follow a request by the Texas Historical Commission to create the cemetery memorial park across from the Dancy Building. In exchange, THC would increase the county’s restoration grant for the Dancy Building by $300,000.

Historical records indicate that in 1850 graves were moved from the site along East Monroe Street to the city’s new cemetery on Fifth and Madison streets.

But apparently new graves were dug or some graves remained behind.

The remains were found while construction workers were excavating a utility line trench across from the Dancy Building.