LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) – It was like a page out of the history books as construction crews uncovered a wooden coffin Tuesday morning in downtown Lima.
The Allen County Regional Transit Authority is installing new fuel tanks at its Central Street maintenance building when crews discovered a wooden coffin containing human remains. Authorities were notified, along with the Lima chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The coffin appeared to date back to the 1800s and could possibly contain the remains of Private Elijah Stites, a Minuteman of the American Revolution. In 1954, the DAR placed a plaque at the site indicating Stites may have been buried there, which was Lima’s first known cemetery.
“They were very shocked to come across that, you know, you always know in the back your head that, hey, this was originally a cemetery. They say there’s still at least one person buried here, but you don’t think that they’re actually gonna find something when you’re just trying to dig up to put a new fuel, fuel pump. It was kind of exciting. It was, it was just very neat atmosphere. Just, you know, kind of seeing a piece of history unfold before you there,” said Teresa Brown, RTA finance manager.
The Allen County coroner took custody of the remains and released them to a local funeral home for reinterment at a later date. Officials say it may never be known if they are indeed the remains of Private Elijah Stites.
