In 2008, WBBM 2, CBS, reported on what Lincon Park was before it became a place to visit the history museum, go to the zoo, and rest and play.
In the 1850s, it was a 57 acre cemetery in which eventually 2000 cholera victims and 4000 Confederates and 30,000 others were buried. Today, only the Couch family tomb remains of the cemetery. The rest have been removed, but a lot weren't.
Six historical markers were installed in May 2008 to give the story.
It was called the Old City Cemetery. The Confederate soldiers died at Camp Douglas and were buried at Potters Field east of the deeded lots. This is where the poor and indigent were interred. Of the 57 acres, only bodies in 12 were exhumed.
So now, when you're walking around or playing on the grounds of the park, there is a good chance that human remains might be a short distance below your feet.
I Didn't Know That. --Old B-R
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
