All the Vaults of the City Cemeteries are Piled High with Coffins: Discovering Victims of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Mortuary Monuments and Archaeology: Current Research" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

A small plot of land in the southeast corner of Washington Monumental Cemetery was reputed to contain victims of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. In some respects, this area of the cemetery had characteristics of lots within Rural Cemeteries that were often located within the rear and reserved for those of less financial means. The smattering of surviving markers at Washington Monumental Cemetery were simple and reflected the cultural background of newly arrived Eastern European immigrants. In 2018 (100th anniversary of the height of the Influenza Pandemic), the Middlesex County Office of Arts and History, the South River Historical and Preservation Society, and the Washington Monumental Cemetery Association commissioned a ground penetrating radar survey, with stunning results – almost 400 unmarked graves in several rows. Who were these people, and did they all die from the Influenza Pandemic? The paper answers these questions and considers their above ground forms of commemoration.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Mortuary Monuments and Archaeology: Current Research

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 969