Friday, November 7, 2014

Did not know this...

Interesting article yesterday in the Post about Flamingo Park in West Palm Beach. From the article:
In fact, at least 100 bodies lie on this ground [Flamingo Park on Dixie Hwy in West Palm Beach], just beneath the green grass and towering banyans that lure kids, dogs, and anyone else seeking a respite.
There easily could be twice that many, said Mary Brandenburg, who lives across the street in the El Cid neighborhood. She should know. The former city commissioner (1999-2002) and former state representative (2002-2010) was a member of the city’s historical preservation board in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Brandenburg said many families who couldn’t afford formal burials dug graves in the dead of night. As a result, there’s no way of telling how many bodies are there.
The Lakeside Cemetery Association bought the property from the city in 1902. It was used as a separate cemetery for blacks, although it never got an official name. By 1913, some 100 people had been buried there. That year, the city tried to buy it back so it could resell it. No less than the Florida Supreme Court blocked the effort.