Underground crypt found on Arkansas School for the Deaf campus

[Transcript] There is an underground crypt that was recently found under the campus of the Arkansas School for the Deaf.

The Arkansas Times reported that the crypt could be a part of an old cemetery from the 1800’s to the 1900’s where staff and students were buried on campus.

The crypt was discovered after there was a cave-in at a driveway on campus last summer. School officials thought it was a collapsed culvert, but the hole widened, and they found out that it was not a culvert and called state archaeologists.

The cave-in was near a stone that said, “THIS AREA SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF EMPLOYEES AND PUPILS BURIED HERE.”

The crypt appears to be made of metal and is crushed.

The Superintendent Janet Dickinson told KARK News that they have heard of stories of students who became sick on campus and died, and because their families were very poor, the school decided to bury them on campus.

The school has history that goes back to 1849. The Director of the Arkansas Deaf Heritage Center, J.R. Courtright, told KARK News that he is a third-generation student on campus. His grandmother was a student in the 1930’s and then his father attended the school. He said he has heard of scary stories on campus where something would grab a night watchman.

The hole is now covered and is secure. It has attracted a number of visitors that the school is asking the public to please not come on campus to look at it out of concern for the safety of a nearby elementary school.

KARK News said the hole will be covered up until January, which is when a team of archeologists will come to do more testing. Students will do research on the history of the school to find out how many people were buried on campus.

Ark Times: https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2019/10/23/road-cave-in-at-school-for-the-deaf-may-reveal-burial

KARK: https://www.kark.com/news/newsfeed-now/crypt-found-six-inches-under-the-arkansas-school-for-the-deaf-campus-more-discoveries-expected/

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