ST. CHARLES, Md. — A small unmarked burial ground discovered during construction work in St. Charles could soon receive official local historic landmark protection after the Charles County Planning Commission voted Monday, May 18, to recommend approval to the Board of County Commissioners.
The Hopewell Burial Ground, located within the Parklands neighborhood in St. Charles, was unexpectedly discovered June 15, 2021, during gravel mining operations on the property. County officials said the find was not identified during an earlier archaeological review completed in 2016.
According to county archaeologist Esther Doyle Reed, investigators later determined the burial ground originally contained six individuals buried in three rows across an area measuring roughly 30 by 40 feet. Archaeologists believe the cemetery likely served as a small family burial ground connected to families who once owned the land, including the Hopewell, Boswell and Tucker families.
“The shovel test pits fell even between the graves,” Reed explained during the Planning Commission meeting, describing how the original archaeological review missed the site before construction activity later disturbed several burials.
After the discovery, the Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office was notified June 16, 2021, and the Department of Planning and Growth Management became the lead agency overseeing decisions related to the burial ground. Archaeological investigations were conducted in September 2021 by R. Christopher Goodwin and Associates.
Officials said remains disturbed during the mining work were respectfully returned to the site during a reinternment ceremony organized through the county’s Historic Preservation Commission. The burial area has since been formally registered with the State of Maryland as an archaeological site and added to the county’s GIS cemetery records.
The proposed landmark designation would add another layer of long-term protection to the site through the county’s development review process, including future building permits, demolition permits and site development plans.
County planner Cal Carpenter told commissioners the designation process began with review by the Historic Preservation Commission, which approved the application Feb. 11, 2026, before forwarding it to the Planning Commission for recommendation to the county commissioners.
If ultimately approved by the Board of County Commissioners, the burial ground will remain permanently preserved through a preservation easement within the neighborhood’s open space area. Officials said the homeowners association will maintain the site with basic landscaping and mowing, while prohibitions in the preservation plan prevent additional decorative features that could create maintenance burdens.
A historic marker will also be installed at the site with approved wording acknowledging that the identities of those buried there may never be known.
The approved historic marker text states:
“The names and lives of those buried in the cemetery at Hopewell may never be known. The cemetery was in use during the 18th and 19th centuries, at a time when small private burial grounds like this one were common. Many families lived on and worked these lands; white, free African American, Native, and enslaved peoples. We do not know who is buried in the cemetery, but historic records indicate that the Hopewell, Boswell, and Tucker families owned the land. Gone but not forgotten are those anonymously buried in the cemetery at Hopewell.”
No public comments were submitted during the hearing before the Planning Commission unanimously voted to forward the recommendation for approval to the Charles County Board of Commissioners.
Watch the full May 18, 2026, Charles County Planning Commission meeting on CCGTV.
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