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Elko Switch Cemetery, 20-1 Summary Report, page 14
least as late as 1916 (1916 nickel recovered from Burial No. 1) and we are reasonably sure that the markers were removed and the field plowed sometime prior to 1925. This presents another question. Why was there no movement or protest to avoid destruction of such a recent cemetery? Even though sharecroppers moved frequently, it is highly unlikely that all relatives of the deceased moved away in such a short period of time. According to Ms. Perroni, Mr. Driver researched archives and sponsored newspaper stories in 1941. These efforts failed to identify the cemetery and there were no responses from friends or relatives. A search for a map recording of the cemetery, as well as an "old store just north of the cemetery" near Elko Switch on the Southern Railway, turned up nothing. Although the landowners of the property have been identified, there is no record of the cemetery in related documents nor, apparently, were there any churches in the vicinity.
Background for the cemetery is obviously sketchy at best, making precise dating difficult to the say the least. A date range of 1850 to 1920 is suggested based on the above information and artifact analysis. This range is for the excavated (eastern) portion of the cemetery only. Shorty reportedly made the comment that the cemetery may have been used as far back as the early 1800s. No evidence of burials that early was recovered from the investigated area of the cemetery, although the unexcavated portion may
p. 4 date to that period. A rough temporal distribution pattern is recognizable in the excavated area, with the earlier burials clustered in the center and later burials on the periphery; however, the pattern is not absolute due to the lack of definite dating mechanisms. If this pattern continues into the unexcavated areas it would seem likely that any pre-1850 graves would be located west of the Arsenal fence line. The highest elevation of the gently
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