(A copy of this letter has been sent to New Canaan Town Planner Steve Palmer, P&Z, the Connecticut State Archaeologist’s office, and local media) To the editor: As the sign outside Town Hall notes, “During the early nineteenth century, New Canaan was one of the important shoe-making centers of New England.” This piece of our local history is important, and, if preserved, can add to the character of our town and help preserve our New England charm. We have the opportunity, right now, to preserve a piece of that local history. Maple Street Cemetery is located on property proposed for development by M2 partners. On November 29, P&Z voted to approve M2’s application for the Merritt Village development with 65 conditions, many of which pertain to what is now referred to as Parcel P, identified as a section of the Maple Street Cemetery in old Town records and maps. (The cemetery, aka Maple Street Burial Grounds, also sits on property which extends into Southfield Lane Condos, at 83 South Avenue, which has landscaped and paved over several known graves, including the burial sites of Rufus St. John and Richard Fairweather, according to Andrew Mellilo of Greenwich-based RVDI, a land use consulting firm, from http://newcanaanite.com/desecration-is-illegal-cemetery-expert-says-neighbor-of-merritt-village-has-paved-over-burial-plots-43356.) We are asking New Canaan’s P&Z Commission to vote to not amend conditions Nos.5,21,22,23,24 all of which pertain to protecting the entire cemetery by curbing any development on Parcel P. This will allow protection of the entire original burial ground. Maple Street Cemetery, established about 1825, was founded by Col. Ezra Benedict as a private burial place for the proprietors of several shoemaking firms in the Park Street area. During recent archaeological excavations in late November, 3 human remains were found on Parcel P on the “David Law” plot. One of the remains has been identified as David Law due to an oval sterling silver coffin plate engraved “David Law Died Dec. 7th 1835 Aged 57 Yrs.” Details on David Law can be found here: http://newcanaanite.com/181-year-old-gravesite-of-prominent-new-canaan-man-discovered-at-maple-street-cemetery-45884 According to the New Canaan Historical Society’s records: “The Law Family of New Canaan first arrived in 1824, yet it is this family that has the longest historical interaction with the Maple Street Cemetery (ranging from 1824 to 1963). David Law, a Scotsman, operated a shoe store in New York but heard of New Canaan’s success in the industry and attempted to take a chance in that town’s market (King 1981). Even more importantly, on February 16 reports were released which confirmed more human remains were found on the the Hoyt-Keeler and St.John plots, also in Parcel P. Details are available on the New Canaan P&Z web site, here: http://newcanaan.info/filestorage/9488/9220/785/803/22886/23971/Merrit_Archeological_Report.final.2.16.17.pdf The report confirms the 3 burials found in late November, but also provides details on additional human remains found in both the Hoyt-Keeler parcel and the St. John parcel. (Fragmentary wood, nails, coffin tacks, hinges, viewing window glass, and other non-human remains were found in all parcels on the Parcel P section of the cemetery, but these may be from “historically disinterred burials” per the report. On page 7, Feature 4: Hoyt-Keeler Parcel >>Under the second coffin lid piece, at a depth of 138cmbs, a small, partial and very badly degraded 12cm by 25cm section of human remains was recovered. These remains include one tooth, partial left distal radius and ulna, fragments of phalanges, partial left and right tibiae, and a fragment of the left pelvis. HPI archaeologists left the human remains in situ; the wood and brass tacks were collected for further. On page 8, Feature 6: St. John Parcel >>Fragmentary wood, corroded nails, fragments of viewing window glass, an unidentifiable piece of hardware, and a possible tortoise-shell hair comb. Human remains included one possible badly degraded tarsal or metatarsal. The viewing window glass which is normally located over the cranium was strewn throughout the feature. The hair comb and unidentifiable piece of hardware were collected for further analysis. The possible tarsal/metatarsal was returned to the feature. Since, in at least both these instances, human remains were found on the parcels, left “in situ,” and “returned to the feature,” these parcels would definitely be considered “still a cemetery” under any reasonable person’s estimation. And, per the November 29 P&Z meeting, whereby Attorney Ira Bloom and others concluded that “if human remains are found, it’s a cemetery, can’t own it, can’t build on it,” it should be clear that New Canaan’s P&Z Commission can clearly vote to uphold conditions Nos.5,21,22,23,24. New Canaan Town Attorney Ira Bloom stated at a P&Z Hearing on Nov.29, 2016 (recorded and available at NCTV79 website video file of Hearings at 3:29:44 to 3:53:55 on the tape, link here: https://vimeo.com/194602661 ), that if human remains were found on Parcel P, it is a cemetery, M2 does not own it, and cannot own it by Statute. Thank you, P&Z Commission, for recognizing that the Maple Street Cemetery, the entire Old Burial Ground, including what has now been referred to as “Parcel P,” is still a cemetery, has always been a cemetery, as it is considered in old Town records and Town records. Please vote no to amending conditions Nos.5,21,22,23,24 in any way, and leave this important piece of New Canaan’s early history intact. Thank you. Regards, Susan Serven