A cemetery for people enslaved by Andrew Jackson has been uncovered at The Hermitage

Researchers have discovered a cemetery for people enslaved by Andrew Jackson, the seventh U.S. president, who made his home in Nashville.

The graves are located a mere 1,000 feet from Jackson’s main house at The Hermitage.

Until now, The Hermitage has been unable to locate where people enslaved under Jackson had been buried. Between the years of 1788 and the end of the Civil War, Jackson and his family enslaved 325 people.

An anonymous donation prompted the Hermitage to enlist the Tennessee State Division of Archaeology, TRC Environmental Corporation and the Vanderbilt Institute of Spatial Research to collaborate on the project.

Utilizing maps, surveys, a 1935 report, and radar imaging, researchers were able to identify a five-acre search area. After overgrowth was cleared away, the cemetery was revealed. It had never been farmed or built upon, and showed depressions aligned in rows, as well as unnaturally-placed limestone, assumed to be grave markers.

Twenty-eight prospective grave sites have been identified, but researchers say that is subject to change.

Alan LeBlanc Andrew Jackson Foundation

The cemetery, which is located around 1,000 feet from the property’s main house, has been fenced off.

“We have identified 28 prospective gravesites, but not all of them may turn out to actually be graves,” said Jason R. Zajac, president of the Andrew Jackson Foundation, in a statement. “It is also possible that graves exist at the site that we have not yet identified, due to environmental or other factors. Our work here is just beginning.”

The Hermitage has fenced off the area and established a walking path between the cemetery and the main house. It plans to incorporate the cemetery into a tour, and says it will engage descendants of those buried there. A final report on the cemetery, produced by TRC, is expected to be released in 2025.