Story

Storyteller: Dr. Justin Dunnavant, National Geographic Storyteller

The Bethlehem Tamarind tree is believed to date back to the era slavery and marks a historic cemetery that marks the burial plots of those once enslaved on the plantation. Preliminary survey of the Tamarind Tree conducted in 1997 revealed several potential archaeological features, prompting archaeologists to revisit the site. In 2002 construction was halted when construction workers came across burial ground. David Brewer carried out excavations which delineated the extent of several graves but did not disturb the burials. He uncovered clay bottles, pottery, tools, ceramics, beads, and a silver medallion. A year later, Steve Lenik conducted his master’s thesis research there, identifying 110 features including 33 burials, 35 post holes, and 40 pit features. The remains were not disturbed, and it is possible that there are more ancestors’ burials under the tamarind tree. 

A landscape architecture firm developed a concept for a memorial but it was never actualized (https://architizer.com/projects/lost-cemetery-of-estate-bethlehem/). 

Tamarind trees and their fruit have several uses. For medical purposes they have been used as an eye wash, an emetic, a laxative, an antiscorbutic, and a treatment for high blood pressure. The wood may be harvested and used for building and carving, or it can be made into charcoal, and the branches may serve as switches.