As part of the redevelopment of Guelph’s Baker Street parking lot, the city is conducting an archaeological investigation that could unearth remains buried almost two centuries ago.
From 1827 to 1853, the site of the lot was an all-faith cemetery, so finding human bone fragments in the area during construction projects is not uncommon.
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Discoveries were made in 2016, 2010 and in 2005 when the remains of one male, one female and 36 incomplete others were found.
After 1853, a bylaw was passed banning all human burials within town limits and the land was purchased by the city for use as a public park in 1879.
According to a post on the city’s website, some headstones that were not moved to a new cemetery (Woodlawn Memorial Park) were no longer standing when the city took ownership of the land.
As a result, a number of graves were unmarked when more remains were moved to Woodlawn in 1879 and therefore some were missed.
More information on the history of the Baker Street parking lot can be found on the city’s website.
As part of an environmental assessment, the city has to dig boreholes and install monitoring wells, but will only do so once the site is cleared by archaeological experts.
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The environmental and archaeological work is scheduled to get underway on Monday and is expected to take six weeks but could go longer if any remains are found.
Along with experts being called in, Guelph police, the coroner’s office, Woodlawn Memorial Park and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport are also involved in the project.
Short-term parking will be reduced during the work as the contractor closes one-quarter of the lot at a time to complete the work.
Drivers can also choose other downtown parking lots, including the Wyndham and Macdonell street lots.
The city also offers free on-street parking in the downtown core for up to two hours a day.
Monthly permit holders can continue to park in the Baker Street lot as usual, but the city asks those individuals to drive carefully around the work sites.
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Planning is currently underway to replace the parking lot with a multi-purpose development, including a new central library.
Construction is expected to get underway by 2024.