Tuscaloosa: 89 Graves Reburied After Two-Year Effort
University of Alabama, state DOT, and mental health officials dedicated a new memorial site for former Bryce Hospital patients whose remains were moved for bridge construction.
By Adriana Abebe ·
The University of Alabama, the Alabama Department of Transportation, and the Alabama Department of Mental Health completed the reburial of 89 graves on Harper Court in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday. The three agencies held a dedication ceremony to mark the end of a two year project to relocate these remains to a permanent memorial site behind the university.
The graves belonged to former patients of Bryce Hospital, a state mental health facility. Some of the interments date back to the mid 1800s. The remains were originally located off Jack Warner Parkway. State officials removed them to clear the way for the widening of the new Woosley Finnell Bridge across the Black Warrior River. The physical relocation process spanned nearly two years.
Alabama Department of Mental Health Commissioner Kimberly Boswell spoke at the event. She said the memorial should serve as a place of remembrance. Boswell stated that the actions taken that day should remind future generations that no person should be forgotten regardless of illness or the circumstances of their passing.
Ann Marshall, an ALDOT consultant, offered a prayer for the individuals. She asked for their tired spirits to find eternal rest and for their names, stories, and worth to be restored.
Following the formal ceremony, project staff formed a prayer circle to honor those treated at the facility. Boswell noted that the first recorded death at the institution, then known as the Alabama Insane Hospital, occurred in December 1861. By 1922, approximately 6,000 individuals had died at what later became Bryce Hospital.
