Submitted by William A. Greene 2007

Old Burial Plot Uncovered by Road Builders

Some 100 Years in Ground

The town of Cuba and county of Allegany are this spring extending the macadam road around Cuba Lake, form the Warner farm to the Cuba – Ischua town line. In the old road bed, there was a small curve and the state engineers in surveying for the new road, decided to straighten this curve and thus give the traveler on the road a straight ahead view and the maps and plans for the road were made with this in mind.

Within the past week workmen started the construction of the new road, under the supervision of E. P. Barnes of Elmira, and the work progressed rapidly until they reached the curve, which was to be straightened. To the passerby the road at this spot had always been considered nothing more or less that a briar patch and now at last seemed to come a solution to clear this all away. When it was discovered that this particular spot was not merely a briar patch but was an old community cemetery. Of course the road could not go thru the cemetery and the county workmen could not remove the bodies there interred. The county superintendent of highways, Mr. Barnes, in charge of the work, and the Cuba superintendent of highways, immediately took steps to have the bodies, or what might be left of them removed.

After clearing away the brush and briars, the graves were found. These graves were sunken with time and the graves were marked with piles of fieldstones. Only one lettered slab or stone was found and that marked the grave of Silas Clark, a child two years of age and the date of his burial was marked as 1822, 104 years ago.

In the excavation of this cemetery nothing has been found except the bones, and no complete skeleton. One skull, which was taken from the cemetery, was that of a lady with gray hair, the hair was braided and held in place with a comb; the comb and hair had not deteriorated with the passage of time.

It is believed that some six or seven bodies were buried here, as nearly as can be ascertained from the bones taken, and it is now believed by J. C. Holden, town superintendent of highways that all are removed. At the present time these bones are in the vault o the Cube cemetery and will within a few days be buried.

Diligent efforts have been made to locate anyone who may have relatives buried here so that upon proper proof they may claim them, if they so desire. Up to the present time no one has claimed any of them.

The last record that can be found of anyone having been buried here was made more than seventy – five years ago.