SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – The St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday approved funding for archaeological work to determine whether graves remain in a parking lot across from Tropicana Field.
Archaeologists previously surveyed the site using ground-penetrating radar and detected what could be burials linked to Oaklawn Cemetery, founded around 1905. An expanded search last year identified seven possible burials and three additional areas of interest, bringing the total number of possible graves flagged in the lot to 10.
Radar can reveal anomalies underground but cannot confirm a grave. To verify what is in the soil, archaeologists plan a process called “ground-truthing” — a careful digging method used to determine what lies beneath the surface.
City documents say the project includes excavating potential grave sites, sifting material, and identifying and documenting any remains and artifacts found within the Oaklawn Cemetery site.
Stantec Consulting Services Inc., formerly known as Cardno, will perform the work. The firm is expected to provide a report within 90 days of field work and lab analysis to the city, stakeholders and the Florida State Historic Preservation Officer, according to city documents.
Oaklawn was a predominantly white cemetery during the segregation era. It sat next to two cemeteries with African American burials — Evergreen and Moffett — on land now under I-175 across from Tropicana Field. Workers found bones while building the interstate decades ago.
Councilmember Corey Givens Jr. said he supports the Oaklawn work but wants similar steps taken at Evergreen and Moffett.
“True equity, I think, will be doing the same thing that we did at Oaklawn, doing ground penetrating radar on Evergreen Cemetery in Moffett Cemetery to find out if there is still, in fact, individuals buried underneath those cemeteries,” Givens said.
Records show burials from Evergreen and Moffett were supposed to be relocated to Lincoln Cemetery in Gulfport, but no available records confirm the transfer was completed. The Florida Department of Transportation owns part of the land and said it has no plans to search for graves. There have been no efforts or proposals to search those sites.
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