Archaeological Testing of the Northeastern Corner of the Court Street Cemetery, AZ BB:13:156 (ASM), and the Excavation of Burial Features 36 and 37, Tucson, Pima County, Arizona

Summary

Desert Archaeology, Inc., implemented an archaeological testing project in the northeastern corner of the historic Court Street Cemetery, AZ BB:13:156 (ASM). The project area is within the Catholic portion of the cemetery. The cemetery was in use for only 34 years, between 1875 and 1909, but research suggests that more than 8,000 individuals were interred during that time. The project was undertaken for the City of Tucson prior to improvements and the sale of a portion of the land. Archaeological investigations were conducted in three areas, all of which were tested through the backhoe stripping of the ground surface and the removal of overlying sediments. Previous archaeological investigations in other areas of the cemetery showed that backhoe stripping was an effective method for identifying the outline of burial plots and coffins. The goals of the testing program were to determine if human remains were present in the project area and to locate the eastern and northern edges of the cemetery.

The Court Street Cemetery was established in 1875 on what was then the far north side of Tucson. It was envisioned as the final resting place for city residents. The cemetery was divided into sections, including areas for religious and fraternal organizations, as well as a secular area for city residents. The Catholic portion of the cemetery encompassed around 50 percent of the total area. Efforts to enhance the physical appearance of the cemetery through landscaping and the fencing of the different sections were thwarted by the lack of water for vegetation, a high caliche level, and by the overall apathy of city residents. As Tucson grew northward, the Catholic Church and the Tucson business community opted in 1907 to open new cemeteries farther from town, remove the burials already present, and to use the land for residential and commercial development. However, problems in relocating graves, the lack of interested relatives and friends, and the relatively high cost of exhuming the remains, made efforts to remove the burials difficult, and many bodies were left behind, although the exact number is unknown.

The testing program identified two burials, both located beneath the recently demolished 1st National Bank of Arizona building, which was constructed in the late 1950s. The only other feature identified through testing was a circular tree-planting pit, likely associated with the cemetery landscaping. Both of the bodies were buried within wood coffins. Feature 36 was a nearly complete skeleton of a 40-45 year old male of likely European ancestry, with most of the remains in their correct anatomical position. Associated artifacts included bone and metal buttons and small pieces of fabric, probably remnants of clothing. Feature 37 was a partial skeleton of a 45-55 year old male, also of probable European ancestry. Associated artifacts were mostly remnants of clothing along with eight complete and three broken embalming fluid bottles. Most of the skeleton was missing and the parts that remained were largely disarticulated, suggesting that the individual had been disinterred for reburial elsewhere. Interestingly, a spent bullet found within the Feature 37 grave may indicate that this individual died a violent death, although this could not be verified by the recovered remains. Burial records indicate that at least 27 individuals interred in the Catholic cemetery died from gunshot wounds, four of whom match the sex, age, and racial background of the Feature 37 individual.

Since 1949, archaeologists have documented 48 burials in the Court Street Cemetery, including the two recovered by the current project. The recovery of only two burials on this project was surprising, particularly because the Catholic Diocese of Tucson burial registers indicate that 5,072 individuals were buried in the Catholic portion of the cemetery between June 1875 and July 1909. Significant discrepancies between the burial register and information from death certificates further suggest that as many as 25 percent more individuals were interred in the cemetery than indicated by the register data. This means that as many as 6,300 burials may be present in the Catholic portion of the cemetery, which encompasses an area of 980,000 ft2.

If the 6,300 estimated burials were evenly distributed across this area, the 30,840 ft2 project area, which is around 3 percent of the total Catholic cemetery, should contain 198 burials. The recovery of only two burials from this area strongly suggests that the burials were not evenly distributed but instead were purposefully grouped in some manner, and will be tightly clustered in the remaining portion of the cemetery. Determining the reason for the grouping, which could be due to environmental or cultural factors, or a combination of the two, is a research question that can be addressed by future projects.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Desert Archaeology DAHA Resources   •
• Digital Archive of Huhugam Archaeology (DAHA)

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

None: 1875 to 1909 (Cemetery in use)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Prepared By(s): Desert Archaeology, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Department of Urban Planning & Design

Record Identifiers

Arizona State museum Burial Agreement (s): 2012-024

Arizona State Museum Accession Number(s): 2012-232

Arizona Antiquities Act Project Specific Permit(s): 2012-093ps

City of Tucson Project No. (s): 10-31

File Information