The archaeologists working at the excavation site at Secaucus Potter’s Field identified 900 of the nearly 5,000 anonymous remains and catalogued more than 113,000 associated artifacts. All but two of the identified remains were returned to their families for private burial. Granite monuments now stand at the cemetery site and along the Secaucus interchange memorializing the former Potter’s Field.
Fall Speaker Event - Macabre Discovery: The Secaucus Potter’s Field
Tuesday, October 6, 2015, 7:15 pm.
Township of Ocean Board of Education Offices (Old Oakhurst School), Auditorium,
163 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst, NJ 07755
Tuesday, October 6, 2015, 7:15 pm.
Township of Ocean Board of Education Offices (Old Oakhurst School), Auditorium,
163 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst, NJ 07755
Early in the new millennium, a road crew working on a highway interchange on the New Jersey Turnpike in Secaucus, made a grisly discovery: caskets. Scores of them—pine boxes, unmarked and unexpected. Work on the highway stopped and investigation of the site began.
Enter Gerry Scharfenberger, Archaeology Professor at Monmouth University. As lead investigator, he and his team sifted through remains and artifacts. Ultimately, they identified 900 of the 4,751 bodies unearthed in what turned out to be the Secaucus Potters Field. From 1870-1962, the burial site served as the last resting place of the inmates of a poor house, prison, smallpox hospital, alms house, and insane asylum.
A grisly discovery makes a fascinating tale Archaeologist to speak on his detective work at the Secaucus Potter’s Field 1962, the burial site served as the last resting place of the inmates of a poor house, prison, smallpox hospital, alms house, and insane asylum.
At 7:15, Tuesday, October. 6, in the auditorium of the Board of Ed. Offices, 163 Monmouth Rd., Oakhurst, Professor Scharfenberger tells the mesmerizing story of the investigation.
As he explains, “Little or nothing was known about the remains. But when you see a gunshot wound to the head, or a body hit by a train with bones in 500 pieces, you get to know a little bit about the lives these people led.“
Join us October 6 to help give these long forgotten souls their hearing. Admission is free. (Donations are welcome).