(New Orleans, LA) - The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) announced the conclusion of the environmental studies associated with the Canal Blvd Cemeteries Terminal project which completed in 2018. The terminal which is a connection point for RTA and JeT buses, as well as streetcars, was funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as the final piece of the Canal Street streetcar project. An environmental study was conducted as the project team learned of the historic nature of the area and the unmarked historic cemetery. The environmental study’s conclusion ends the project with the final reburial of the unidentified remains found at the terminal site in 2016-2017. The reburial will take place on Wednesday, October 20, 2021. All remains will be interred at Charity Hospital Cemetery No. 1, 5050 Canal Street.

When RTA began to make plans for the construction of a multi-modal terminal in the Canal St/City Park Ave/Canal Blvd area, the historic nature of the area as an unmarked historic cemetery was unknown. As part of compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA, RTA hired Earth Search, Inc. (ESI), a local cultural resources management firm, to complete an archaeological survey of the area. Historical research revealed that the Canal Blvd neutral ground (between City Park Avenue and Rosedale Drive) was part of Charity Hospital Cemetery No. 2, one of two pauper’s cemeteries established by the hospital in the mid-1800s. Charity Hospital Cemetery No. 1 is located at 5050 Canal St. Archaeological investigations found intact human burials throughout the proposed construction area.

Construction plans were altered to reduce impacts to the cemetery. However, there were still some burials that could not be avoided during construction. RTA and FTA worked with the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), the Mississippi Band of Choctaw’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO), and other interested parties to develop a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to guide the construction of the proposed terminal.

In 2016-2017, ESI excavated several burials/burial areas that could not be avoided during construction. The remains from the excavated burials were taken to the Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) Laboratory at the Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge, for identification and study. After the burials were excavated, RTA applied to city court to have the cemetery dedication removed from those areas.

The researchers at the FACES lab discovered that all the burials contained multiple individuals, even burials that contained only one coffin. The lab identified at least 23 individuals. There were three men identified; their ages were estimated to be 20-40 years at the time they died. Two women were identified; their ages were estimated to be 25-40 years when they died. Two children under the age of two years were identified. Also, five very young infants were identified. These babies may have been stillborn or died within a week of being born. In addition, there were two teenagers (12-17 years), but their sex could not be determined. The remaining nine individuals were most likely adults, but their ages and sexes could not be determined. Also, the skeletal remains were so fragmentary that no racial identifications were possible. There were no obvious signs of the cause of death for any of the individuals. They probably died from yellow fever, but this was not the only disease that killed New Orleans residents. There were outbreaks of cholera, diphtheria, and various other “fevers” throughout the nineteenth century.

Unfortunately, there is no way to identify who these people were. Charity Hospital maintained records of all people who died there and were buried by the hospital, but none of the markers (branded numbers) were visible on the coffins. Therefore, we cannot connect any of these individuals with descendant communities. The Katrina Memorial Mausoleum Foundation has kindly offered a vault in their mausoleum to re-inter these individuals. A memorial service will be held at the mausoleum on October 18, 2021. The mausoleum is located at Charity Hospital Cemetery No. 1, 5050 Canal St.