Hundreds buried in unmarked graves in York County potter’s field to be honored in monument

For years, a grassroots effort has been raising funds for a monument to honor people buried in unmarked graves in a potter’s field in North York. That goal is finally coming to fruition.

The unveiling for York City Cemetery’s permanent monument will be held March 9 at the site along Schley Alley in North York. 

Project Penny Heaven took in $21,000 in donations to purchase and install the monument, but an increase in materials delayed the group’s efforts. Adjustments in materials, as well as discounts from suppliers and other donations from other businesses and organizations helped make the project more affordable.

The stone monument has two aluminum plaques. One gives a brief history of the monument and the larger plaque has the names of 270 of the more than 800 people known to be buried there.

Many are in anonymous graves with no markers. 

“The remaining 500 or so we’ll probably never know. We might over the years find one or two names that we missed, but the large majority will be lost to history,” said Jamie Noerpel, chair of Project Penny Heaven.

Noerpel spearheaded the fundraising efforts, and said the work of reconstructing the site’s history will continue. Project Penny Heaven will continue to provide presentations to local groups and organizations. She has been working to create awareness about the forgotten graves of Yorkers through her blog “Witnessing York.” 

York City, which owns the cemetery plot, agreed to maintain it and the monument, which are actually located in the borough of North York. As part of the agreement with the city, Preservation Pennsylvania and Friends of York City Cemetery have to build up a maintenance fund. Fundraising efforts are now underway for maintenance and gardening projects on the site.

“We would love to raise some money to beautify the lot and use perennial flowers that come back every year and that are good for local pollinators, you know, like native plants,” Noerpel said. “There’s been some talk about having a place where people can plant flowers in people’s names.”