HOUSTON \u2013 In Houston\u2019s Fifth Ward, a newly released archaeological report is shedding light on a troubling discovery beneath a heavily traveled roadway\u2014one that may hold the remains of hundreds of people tied to a historic Black cemetery.<\/p>\n
According to the 2026 report, human remains are still buried beneath Lockwood Drive, an area long believed to overlap with the Evergreen Negro Cemetery. The cemetery served as the final resting place for formerly enslaved individuals, Buffalo Soldiers, and some of the city\u2019s earliest Black residents.<\/p>\n
Advocates and researchers say the findings confirm what many had suspected for years: the burial ground was never fully cleared before the roadway was constructed.<\/p>\n
Earlier excavation only scratched the surface<\/p>\n
During a previous METRO rapid transit project\u2014later canceled\u2014archaeologists were called in to investigate concerns about the site. That effort uncovered 33 sets of remains in the roadway\u2019s median.<\/p>\n
But experts now say that work only addressed the top layer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just came and kind of scraped and got the top layer,\u201d said Zanitra Wells, conservator of the cemetery.<\/p>\n
Further analysis indicates that graves exist at multiple depths, suggesting that many more remains were left undisturbed.<\/p>\n
Hundreds potentially still underground<\/p>\n
The updated report documents 37 recovered remains so far, but estimates that the true number could be significantly higher\u2014possibly in the hundreds.<\/p>\n
Many of the graves are unmarked, leading researchers to believe they belong to the cemetery\u2019s \u201cStrangers Rest\u201d section. This area was historically used for individuals who were estranged from their families or unable to afford formal burial services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were other layers of remains that are still there,\u201d said Lisa Jedkins, who works with Project RESPECT and the Why Not Legacy and Heritage Foundations.<\/p>\n
Calls for accountability and next steps<\/p>\n
The discovery is now prompting urgent questions about how the city should respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s up to the city to make a decision,\u201d said advocate Juliana Dearman.<\/p>\n
Community leaders are calling for transparency and action, including efforts to identify the remains and notify possible descendants.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure that people know what has happened to their loved ones,\u201d Jedkins said.<\/p>\n
Community members urged to come forward<\/p>\n
Advocates are encouraging families who believe they may have relatives buried at Evergreen to come forward. Their goal is to help identify those interred and ensure they are properly accounted for and respected.<\/p>\n
Historic recognition adds urgency<\/p>\n
The issue takes on added significance as the cemetery is set to receive a historic marker from the state of Texas this August. Under state law, designated historic cemeteries cannot be disturbed\u2014raising further concerns about the presence of human remains beneath an active roadway.<\/p>\n
As the city considers its next steps, the findings are renewing focus on preserving history, honoring the dead, and addressing long-standing concerns from the community.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 In Houston\u2019s Fifth Ward, a newly released archaeological report is shedding light on a troubling discovery…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[68926,62986,56,58,57,50282],"class_list":["post-272119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-cemetery","tag-fifth-ward","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-roadway"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}