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February 14, 2012

Despite graves, Jeffersonville will use Colston as a ballpark

By DAVID A. MANN David.Mann@newsandtribune.com

JEFFERSONVILLE — Even after confirming the existence of graves there last fall, the city of Jeffersonville will keep Colston Park as a softball field — at least in 2012.

Corporation Counsel Tom Lowe told the Jeffersonville Parks Authority that an archaeological survey is wrapping up at the site but the city should be cleared to repair the park by March 1 and again use it as a ballfield.

The parks authority is made up of members of the Jeffersonville City Council. They had differing opinions of whether or not ball should be played there.

“Now that we know it’s a burial site, I have an issue with just going ahead and playing on top of it,” said Councilman Nathan Samuel. “We typically don’t just run on graves. Now that we know, that’s a concern.”

Councilman Ed Zastawny said he’s OK with ball being played there. Councilman Dennis Julius commented that the city would probably take some flack for allowing it. Mayor Mike Moore said he wasn’t surprised by it when the survey found the burial sites.

“Everybody, I thought, was aware there were burials there,” Moore said. “It wasn’t like a shock.”

Indeed, Lowe pointed out, there is a marker explaining the burials.

The marker reads: “On this site, 1861-1865, are buried several hundred Union and Confederate soldiers, killed in the Western campaign. Lack of interest from distant families allowed deterioration of the wood grave markers and heavy overgrowth. In 1927, the Jeffersonville Council determined, ‘Better the sound of children’s footsteps at play than the silent stride of the nearly forgotten great spirit army here at rest.’ The only intact stone marker was moved to Walnut Ridge Cemetery. No bodies were exhumed.”

Contrary to the marker, Clark County historian Jeanne Burke believes most of the graves were early towns people, not necessarily soldiers. She believes there may be about 300 burials, mostly dating back to the early 1800s.

It was known as the Old City Cemetery and was actually shown on a lot of early maps, she said.

For years the park has been home to city-run softball leagues but it was recently considered as a potential spot for a proposed convention center. That prompted the city to hire Louisville-based Corn Island Archaeology to investigate the park. It has confirmed burials and is currently in the process of mapping out the boundaries of the old cemetery.

Jeffersonville is planning to move its softball leagues to the a complex now under construction at Vissing Park. That’s expected to be complete in time for the 2013 season.

Post 2012 is still a question mark for Colston Park. Moore believes the city should sell the land to a developer, saying the completion of the Big Four bridge ramp will spark commercial interest. Under state law, the grave sites would have to be moved before anything could be built on the land.



MORE PARKS NOTES

• Councilman Matt Owen said the parks authority will remain in place until another board is set up to take its place.

The Moore administration has called the validity of the authority into question, saying its existence is out of compliance with Indiana law. Lowe recently advised the authority that the statute under which it was created — back in 2008 — applies to municipalities with populations of less than 35,000. Jeffersonville’s population is now about 45,000.

Moore has called for a parks board that should consist of himself and four members, which would be appointed by him.

Owen is authority president.

• The city is moving forward with plans for a dog park at Highland Park on Spruce Drive. The council approved $23,000 to fund fencing, cameras and a keypad system for the planned dog park. Residents will likely have to register their dogs and pay a fee in order to be issued a card key that would grant them access to the park area. The price to use the park is still being developed.

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