Human bones found at University of Ky. construction site. It’s the 4th recent discovery
Human bones were found at a construction site on the University of Kentucky’s campus Friday, according to Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn.
Ginn believes the bones were buried there intentionally and he doesn’t suspect any criminal intent. It’s the fourth time in the last week and-a-half that he’s been called out to the same site for a bone discovery. Each time Ginn found at least one set of skeletal remains, he said.
The construction workers shut down operations each time bones were found to allow Ginn to conduct an investigation.
“They acted appropriately because when they found the first bone, they shut down the construction site, which is by law,” Ginn said.
The site is on Scott Street at the Reynolds Tobacco Warehouse. Ginn said the area used to be an old city cemetery from the 1800s.
“The city cemetery filled up when the cholera epidemic came about and that’s how Lexington Cemetery on West Main was formulated,” Ginn said.
Ginn said there were no regulations protecting the cemetery after it filled up, leading to vandalism.
“The cemetery had vandals that would come in and destroy grave markers and all that stuff,” Ginn said. “Some of them were even taken and used for stepping stones around people’s houses.”
Buildings were built on top of the cemetery over time, and now construction workers are starting to dig up the graves. The Reynolds Building was built in 1917.
UK acquired the space and moved the university’s art department there in the 1960s. The building was vacated more than 10 years ago due to a need for major renovations.
In April 2022 Gray Inc. donated more than $5 million towards renovating the building, which will be the future home of UK’s College of Design. The building will be renamed the Gray Design Building.
Officials broke ground on the project about one year ago. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
It’s unknown whether or not the discovery of bones will interrupt the construction project. Ginn said he’s not going to seek identification on the bones and they’ll eventually be reburied at the site.
“I’ve removed them, I’ve got them in safe keeping,” Ginn said. “Eventually we’ll make sure that they’re reburied.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2023 at 11:46 AM.
