145 Caskets Appear To Be Beneath Tampa-Area High School

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - A special ground-penetrating radar has found what appears to be 145 caskets buried beneath a high school in the Tampa Bay area.

The Tampa Bay Times reports Hillsborough County Superintendent Jeff Eakins on Wednesday announced the discovery at the southeast corner of the King High School campus.

The district began investigating last month after cemetery researcher Ray Reed informed them that a paupers burial ground known as Ridgewood Cemetery once existed on the site and bodies could still be interred there.

Records indicate Ridgewood opened in 1942 and that more than 250 people, mostly African Americans, were buried there. The school district bought the land in 1959.

Reed publicized historical records this year that led to the discovery of forgotten Zion Cemetery, another predominantly black cemetery.

Experts say nearly 800 people were buried there between 1901 and 1929.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)