Human Bones Found At Site Of Arboretum

The remains of what is believed to have been an Indian man who died between 150 and 200 years ago are examined by R. J. Lynn of the State Police Troop K command headquarters at Washington Hollow.

HUMAN BONES FOUND AT SITE OF ARBORETUM

Reprinted with permission of the Poughkeepsie Journal

MILLBROOK — Human bones believed to be between 150 and 200 years old have been found on the site of the Cary Arboretum, an 1,800-acre estate being developed by the New York Botanical Gardens.

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Three-fourths of a skull, two main leg bones and an arm bone were found by workmen at a gravel bank. "They were working the area when the gravel bank wall fell and there were the bones," said Thomas Elias, project administrator for New York Botanical Gardens.

County Medical Examiner Dr. William Bennett was called to the scene off Route 82 to examine the bones.

He described them by phone to a pathologist, who roughly guessed their age. "They said it was the body or bones of a male and probably an Indian," said Elias. "The next step is most likely next week when I'll take the bones to Albany and the state museum so they can be dated accurately. Based on what they tell us we may begin some exploratory work at the site and bring in an archaeologist just in case we have something like an Indian burial ground."

He said that some recent artifacts have been found on the grounds of the former Cary Estate. "We are just finishing off the greenhouse complex," he said. "While we were working on it we came across pitchforks and other farm implements dating back 50 or 75 years."

Elias said construction work has stopped in the vicinity of the find and will not start up again until a determination is made on what else will be done with the area.

The New York Botanical Gardens is establishing a major ecological research center and forest preserve on the estate owned by the late Mrs. Me'ben B. Cary Jr."

Her grandfather, tycoon Henry M. Flagler, made most of his money developing the Miami Beach area and founding the Standard Oil Co.

The facility, which is to be one of the most comprehensive gardens of trees and woody plants in the nation when completed five years from now, is being financed by the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust.

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