Preservationists In Hancock County Worry New Project Will Disturb 1800s Cemetery

NEW PALESTINE, Ind. (AP) — Some preservationists are trying to block the proposed construction of an office building near a small 1800s African-American cemetery just outside Indianapolis.

The (Greenfield) Daily Reporter reports members of the Hancock County Pioneer Cemetery Board say the Delaney Cemetery near the town of New Palestine could have unmarked graves outside its fence line.

County Plan Commission attorney Gregg Morelock says the preliminary construction plans for the office building didn't include the cemetery land, but he recommended clarification before the panel considered approving the project.

Surveyor Harold Gibson says he and the project developer are willing to work with preservationists to identify boundaries of the county-owned cemetery along U.S. 52 a few miles east of the Marion-Hancock county line.