Deadline extended for Spillway cemetery plan

A conceptualized drawing of landscaping improvements and interpretive signage that could be included in a renovation to a pair of cemeteries in the Spillway.

The Army Corps of Engineers has extended the deadline for comments on its long-term management plan of two cemeteries that are located in the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

The deadline is March 30.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a meeting last month to determine how to proceed in managing the Kenner and Kugler cemeteries, which appear to date from the early 1800s to 1928 and once adjoined two sugar plantations.

The cemeteries were originally established as burial places for slaves, according to the Corps. About 300 people are buried there, including Civil War Union Army veterans, in below-ground wooden coffins that originally had wooden, stone and iron markers.

At present, the sites are indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape, but site improvements planned for later this year will provide recognition and public access. Both sites were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The renovations include landscape and access improvements, planting trees and adding concrete boundary markers. Outdoor interpretive panels will be placed on the site with a history booklet focused on the people who lived in the area.

Conceptual images of the proposed landscaping plans and interpretive signage are currently available on the Corps’ website and at the St. Charles Parish library’s St. Rose branch.

Through March 30, questions or comments about the project can be sent to:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers c/o Public Affairs

PO Box 60267

New Orleans, LA 70160-0267

Phone: (504)862-2201

Fax: (504)862-1724

E-mail: BonnetCarre@usace.army.mil