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New USF exhibit explores erased cemeteries in Hillsborough County

The exhibit uses maps, land records and other archives to rediscover 45 cemeteries and burial grounds in the county that have been erased, destroyed or forgotten.

TAMPA, Florida — When forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle stood before the Hillsborough County Commission in 2020, they charged her with a gargantuan task: find all erased and abandoned cemeteries in Hillsborough that might fall on county property.

Three years later, mounds of records, maps and archives have led her to details on 45 rediscovered sites, including at least four either on or related to county property. 

On Friday, a new exhibit detailing her findings opened to the public on the campus of the University of South Florida. 

RELATED: Study raises questions about potential graves under businesses in Tampa cemetery

“This is not even reflective of all the cemeteries that have come to light throughout the Tampa Bay and Pinellas area,” Kimmerle said. “But just what we've been able to uncover and it's just one way to help kind of share that story and information because it's just so much history here.

Credit: 10 Tampa Bay
Dr. Erin Kimmerle, forensic anthropologist at the University of South Florida, speaks with 10 Investigates' Emerald Morrow.

It's history especially important to Christina Arenas, who has relatives buried in the erased Keystone Memorial Park Cemetery in the Odessa/Citrus Park area. 

"It makes me feel sad that they contributed so much to the land, and their memory and their contribution has been ignored and has been developed over," Arenas said, adding she would like to see a memorial where the cemetery used to be. 

"It would be nice if we had the opportunity to be able to give them the respect that they built for us so that we could be here," she said. 

Credit: 10 Tampa Bay
Christina Arenas speaks to 10 Investigates' Emerald Morrow at the opening of the "What Lies Beneath" exhibit at the University of South Florida.

Historical records suggest the Keystone Memorial Park Cemetery is located where Bay Tree Farm is located in the 9200 block of Gunn Highway. The property owner has been made aware of the possible graves, but it is unclear if she has taken action or will take any in the future. 

"It would be my hope that the owner of Bay Tree Farms would give us the opportunity to create some type of memorial so that way we could go and we could visit our ancestors," Arenas said. "That's what I would hope."

Credit: 10 Tampa Bay
"What Lies Beneath" exhibit at the University of South Florida. The exhibit runs from September 15 through January 2024.

While Kimmerle shared preliminary research results on the 45 sites during a 2022 county commission meeting, the new exhibit that unveiled Friday takes a more detailed look at each location.

RELATED: Report finds 45 more unmarked cemeteries, burial grounds in Hillsborough County

“The thing about doing this type of historical research is…you answer one question and then it leads to more questions,” she said. “You know, there's just always so much more to fill in.”

Interest in finding erased, destroyed and forgotten cemeteries sparked in 2019 after archaeologists uncovered hundreds of graves under the Tampa Housing Authority’s Robles Park Apartments.

RELATED: At least 115 more graves from Zion Cemetery found at Gonzmart property

Research from Hillsborough County worker Ray Reed that was first published by the Tampa Bay Times helped lead crews to the discoveries. Reed's work is responsible for a number of additional discoveries, including 145 graves in an empty field at King High School. 

Since then, there have been additional discoveries across the entire Tampa Bay area, including in Clearwater where archaeologists confirmed hundreds of graves at the FrankCrum human resources company and at a shuttered Clearwater school a couple of miles away. 

RELATED: Clearwater school atop destroyed Black cemetery plans for future

“I believed then as I do now that we have a moral obligation to see if indeed any of these sites exist on land we manage. We owe that to the families and the community as a matter of human decency,” Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan said during a 2022 meeting about the cemeteries..

The exhibit opened to the public at on Friday, Sept. 15 and will run through January 2024.  It will be showcased in the Waterman Gallery on the campus of the University of South Florida.

Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.


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