Early Michigan Settlers Human Bones Found In Former Cemetery

Michigan has only been recognized as a state since 1837, but as we all know, there have been native people living on this land that we now call home for a long time. If you look at some of the county and city names around the state, you'll quickly realize the strong indigenous ties.

Of course, after the Indigenous people, came the English settlers who moved into the present-day Northeast and eventually spread throughout the rest of the Continental United States. After conquering this land they would eventually fight off the British and become their own country.

Enough about the history of the United States, there's a medium-sized town in Michigan that has its unique history. Kalamazoo is known for being a part of the Underground Railroad, Gibson guitars, Pfizer, and many other significant milestones and projects. Now, they are the subject of a discovery that is taking us back in time.

While doing construction on Westnedge Hill, workers discovered human remains underneath the street. After some research, it was found that this was another discovery from the Pioneer Cemetery. Back in August while crews were doing lead pipe work, they uncovered a gravestone from this same cemetery.

The Pioneer Cemetery is said to be one of the first cemeteries in the entire state of Michigan and holds the remains of some of the earliest Michigan settlers. What we now know as Westnedge Park was Pioneer Cemetery almost 2 centuries ago and we were just reminded of that again. They did stop digging immediately and followed all protocols for situations with human remains but not much information is known as records for Kalamazoo only date back to 1837.

Could you imagine just doing your job and stumbling across human remains? I sure couldn't and I honestly don't know how I would react if I found myself in that situation. Although, it would be cool to be one of the people to discover this as we learn more about the former cemetery.

Here is a list of famous people who are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek: