JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WHAS11) – Within view of the Big Four Bridge and Interstate 65 is a piece of land rich with history from Native American settlements to the country's bloodiest war.
"There's a lot of people still buried here," archeologist Anne Bader said.
She says the area off Mulberry Street in Jeffersonville, Indiana was once the resting place of 300 to 500 Confederate and Union Soldiers. Many have since been moved to New Albany.
"The city is committed to doing the right thing here and they are not planning on disturbing any graves," she said.
That's important because work is underway to build apartments just feet from the burial site. Bader's archeology company was first hired by the city in 2011 to conduct digs and research the land. No gravesites were found where construction is happening, but beyond the temporary fence line is a piece of forgotten history.
"We could see very clearly where the graves were and that they were intact or disturbed and they were intact," she described.
Bader says the earliest grave she found was in 1804. The land was also used for training camp during World War I. "You could very clearly see in the early maps, boundaries of the cemetery," Bader said.
The land is now part of Colston Park and will remain a green space. There are no plans to build on top of it. There is a marker that pays tribute to those who were buried there.
The apartment complex is expected to be complete by the spring of 2019.