HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A new report on unmarked graves in Hillsborough County was presented to county commissioners Wednesday morning.
Dr. Erin Kimmerle, with the University of South Florida's Florida Institute of Forensic Anthropology and Applied Sciences department, was tasked by the county to investigate if any unmarked cemeteries were on county-owned property.
The subject of unmarked burial sites is one that continues to bring forth questions, and Hillsborough County is not an anomaly in the department.
Kimmerle said this is an issue that spans across the country.
"It definitely is a problem everywhere. This is not unique here," Kimmerle said.
If anything, Kimmerle said the county and those who reside within its borders have emphasized more focus on discovering and researching the unmarked burial grounds.
The most recent study focused on four cemeteries within the county: the Lewis Family Cemetery in Lithia, the John Carney Memorial site in Valrico, Marti Colon Cemetery, and the Myrtle Hill Memorial Park.
Kimmerle said it's difficult to tell if graves are at certain sites for various reasons. One of those being the land may be on private property, and without consent, they can't conduct further testing.
Myrtle Hill Memorial Park is now home to Pepin Distributors. Kimmerle said whether graves reside under the property is unknown, but paperwork may shed light on what was once there.
"We don't know any of the parcels that were sold. What alerted us to it is all the historic maps say cemetery, and some of the deeds say that it was a cemetery," Kimmerle said. "There has been a couple of people in the community who said that when they go there, they remember seeing headstones on that side. On the street."
The study will soon be available for public viewing at USF's Waterman Gallery beginning Sept. 15 and will run until January.
