A protest is brewing over a plan to build a Burger King next door to a more than 300-year-old cemetery in Norwich, Connecticut. The local historical society is concerned the fast food restaurant might end up built on an unmarked section of burial ground.
Bill Champagne, the head of the Norwich Historical Society, says the cemetery is one of the city’s most important historic resources.
“It’s a beautiful rolling meadow…If one had to try to find the most sensitive site in Norwich, this would be one of the top two or three.”
Champagne says he’s concerned bodies could be buried on the far side of the cemetery’s stone wall, on the side Burger King plans to build. The wall was installed in 1870, after the land had been used for a cemetery for hundreds of years.
“Burying grounds were different than today’s cemeteries where there are specific plots. And particularly for people who didn’t have as much money – African Americans, Native Americans, slaves – it’s not unusual to find burials outside of what is considered to be the burying ground.”
About 40 residents protested the move at town hall last week. Some called for the land to be examined with ground-penetrating radar that can see where people are buried. The Norwich zoning board will discuss Burger King’s plan at a meeting this week.
