History
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On June 28, 1790, Jonathan Arnold donated the land now occupied by the courthouse and park to the South Parish of the Village of St. Johnsbury for use as a burying ground. By 1855 the burial ground had fallen into disrepair, and families began transferring their dead to the newer Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. After St. Johnsbury was designated the Shire Town of Caledonia County in 1856, a county courthouse was required, so arrangements were made to move all human remains still in the old cemetery, and the original grant was changed to allow a court house to be erected there. In 1994, plans for an addition to the courthouse led to archeological investigations to ensure that no remaining bodies would be disturbed. During studies from 1994 to 2000, 144 grave shafts were discovered and excavated, and 28 full skeletons were exhumed. Only nine were adults; the remaining 19 were children and infants. After scientific analysis, the remains were reburied in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery beside those moved in the 1850s.
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St. Johnsbury, Vermont · United States
