Culture & Heritage Museums of York County

In 2023 Historic Brattonsville, of the Culture and Heritage Museums of York County, began work to document, preserve and interpret a 5-acre tract of land, part of their interpreted 800-acre historic plantation site in McConnells. While the tract was known to be a burial ground, the true magnitude of the site was not known.

Using a Ground Penetrating Radar survey, the boundaries were established, and more than 481 individual burial sites were identified, almost 4 times as many as had been previously thought. Working with local historians and advisors that included descendants of those interred on the site, the burial ground was secured with fencing and 24-hour surveillance, two interpretive wayside panels were installed, and each burial site was marked with a simple modern weathering steel marker. The name of the cemetery was selected by the descendants and in February the Enslaved Ancestral Burial Ground was reconsecrated. The ceremony included the reinstallation of the only engraved headstone on the site, an 1838 marble marker for an enslaved man named Watt and his wife Polly that had been removed for restoration and safekeeping after having been vandalized.

This project is recognized for its comprehensive program, thoughtful commemoration and inclusive process.