The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

 

Published November 7, 2018

Unknown coffin discovered during recent burial


ROACH – An unmarked grave has been discovered during a recent burial at the historic Roach Cemetery.

During a recent burial the gravedigger hit the side of a black metal coffin while digging a grave for a new burial. Local historian Merle Cross was on scene when the incident occurred and stated that just the corner of the casket was uncovered.  No further uncovering of the casket took place.

The new burial site was moved away from the casket with the unknown occupant.

The graves in the cemetery are part of the history of the county and came from various cemeteries that were moved for the flooding of the area once Bagnell Dam was completed.

Most of the graves came from Lower Prairie Hollow but many others from various cemeteries also found a final resting place in Roach.  A total of 286 bodies were moved by Union Electric (UE) but many more have joined the ground since then.

With the flooding of the area on the horizon, UE purchased property in 1930 and paid for the relocation of the graves.

In 1933 UE deeded the property, located off Route AA a short distance from Highway 54, over to Camden County but has since been taken over by the Camden County Museum.

Over the decades the cemetery had fallen into ruin, with grass growing over fallen and broken tombstones, trees taking over areas where graves are and many others that are unmarked and disappearing, such as the one recently discovered.

Cross and others have worked to clean up the cemetery and try and locate graves that are unmarked. Discovering an unknown grave while digging a new one was not expected, Cross said.

It’s also possible that some graves may hold multiple bodies since they are only marked with a number and not a name or names.

The mystery gravesite will be marked and historians will attempt to discover who resides there.

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