A construction project unearthed a painful chapter in Northeast Pennsylvania's history this week.
Contractors working on the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority’s Abrahams Creek restoration project on Thursday uncovered dozens of headstones displaced from the Forty Fort Cemetery during the 1972 Agnes Flood, officials said in a release issued Friday afternoon.
About 35 grave markers were discovered 300 feet from the cemetery, where floodwaters washed away an entire section of the burial ground 52 summers ago.
“WVSA is working closely with Rutledge Construction, Forty Fort Cemetery Association and Forty Fort Borough to ensure the headstones are returned with the utmost respect to Forty Fort Cemetery,” WVSA Stormwater Division Manager Jeff Colella said. “We hope this discovery offers some measure of solace to the families and loved ones affected by the displacements caused by the Agnes Flood.”
Agnes, at the time one of the largest June hurricanes on record according to the National Weather Service, claimed 117 lives and caused $3.1 billion in damage across 12 states.
Pennsylvania was among the hardest hit, and Luzerne County bore much of the brunt. Agnes had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it stalled over the Wyoming Valley.
On the morning of Friday, June 23, 1972, the Susquehanna River began spilling into the valley.
National media attention focused on the devastated region as Wilkes-Barre and surrounding communities suffered the worst flood damage in the area's history, followed by years of recovery.
One of the most shared stories was the inundation of Forty Fort Cemetery, a historic graveyard established in 1777. Floodwaters washed away an entire section of the cemetery, uprooting about 2,000 caskets. Some body parts were recovered, but many were lost forever.
Thursday's discovery may bring closure for the descendants of some people whose remains were never found.
“Our short-term goal is to create an area where these headstones may be placed in a respectful manner. This will give us an opportunity to research and hopefully reach out to the descendants of those who were disinterred in the aftermath of the 1972 flood," Forty Fort Cemetery Association Board President Andy Tuzinski said.
"We would like to give any descendants the opportunity to take possession of the headstones and use it for their own memorial purposes as they see fit,” he added.
The association also would like to honor the missing people on its own grounds.
“Our long-term vision is to establish a dedicated area within the cemetery, aligned with the Abrahams Creek project, to respectfully display the recovered headstones. This space will include thoughtful signage detailing the impact of the 1972 Agnes Flood that displaced the headstones and the story of their rediscovery,” Tuzinski said.
The Abrahams Creek project is a mile-long streambank restoration and walking trail initiative, part of WVSA’s Regional Pollutant Reduction Plan designed to enhance water quality and community spaces, officials said.
