AUSTIN, Texas — The remains of 36 people who were exhumed from East Austin's Oakwood Cemetery, located on Navasota Street, were reinterred on Nov. 17 and will be memorialized in late 2022, according to the City website.
The Oakwood Cemetery was established in 1839, and the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel was created in 1914 for funeral and memorial services. In 2015, the City of Austin approved its Cemetery Master Plan, which included funding for restoration and preservation of the chapel. The project was completed in 2018 but, in the process, crews made a startling discovery.
In 2016, crews discovered the chapel had been constructed over gravesites. After soliciting community feedback, the decision was made to exhume the remains that were discovered, which date from the mid- to late 1800s. In May 2020, PARD reported that an analysis of the remains were complete.
The remains, which date to the mid- to late 1800s, were originally set to be reburied in 2020, but the timeline was delayed when archaeologists at the University of Connecticut approached the city with a pro bono offer to conduct DNA analysis, Kim McKnight, PARD director, told the Austin American-Statesman.
Osteological analysis – meaning the study scientific study of bones – showed the group of remains to be racially diverse. The remains were people from Anglo American, African American, Mexican American and indigenous descent, according to the Statesman. People who believe they may have a familial connection with the deceased will be able to submit a saliva sample to the University of Connecticut lab for DNA analysis.
On Monday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m., the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel will host Interfaith Action of Central Texas to conduct a blessing for the reburial of the men, women and children found during the chapel’s rehabilitation.
A public memorial service will also be held to honor those buried at the site and provide proper memorialization, the City's website says. PARD says it's in the planning phase and it will tentatively be held in late 2022, pending delays in headstone production due to global supply chain issues.
To read more about the next steps in the Oakwood Cemetery archaeological investigation, click here.
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