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DENTON – Meeting for the first time in over a year on Monday afternoon June 9, 2025, the Caroline County Burial Sites Preservation Board determined their next steps in helping preserve and respect remains in two farm graveyards nearly lost to time.
Attending the meeting were board members David Baker, Kathy Mackel, Jeff Porter, Sue Simmons and Harold “Chip” Winters, who presided. Eric Cheezum and Randy Moore were absent. Also attending were County Attorney Stewart Barroll and Board Administrator Catherine McCulley, with the Caroline County Department of Planning & Codes.
The first agenda item concerned the recent “unanticipated discovery” of 13 graves at the Cherrywood Solar I LLC project north of Greensboro. In that case, Cherrywood, a wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC, immediately halted grading activities and hired SEARCH LLC “to assess whether the encountered remains were human, and if so, what archaeological affiliation the remains may have,” according to 47-page report submitted June 2 to Cherrywood and the Planning & Codes by SEARCH’s Lead Principal Investigator Dr. Gypsy Price.
According to its website, SEARCH is “a global leader in archaeology, maritime archaeology, and the full spectrum of cultural heritage services.” Archeologists used ground-penetrating radar to determine the number and location of the remains at Cherrywood.
Easton attorney Ryan Showalter, who represents Cherrywood, along with seven representatives of SEARCH and Cherrywood standing by remotely, answered questions about the discovery and notification process, as well as steps to remediate and protect the burial site, located off Bridgetown Road near Union Corner and owned by Ronald Spiering. The property is leased to Cherrywood for 35 years.
Baker said the land was owned by Robert Jackson in the late 19th century, but it’s not known who is buried in the graveyard. He is trying to find more information about the property’s owners and possibly of the deceased buried there.
“When the discovery occurred, it was reported to authorities, reported to the county,” Showalter said. “The county planning staff issued a stop-work order associated with the parcel that was the subject of the investigation, and we coordinated with the county on identifying the portion of the site where remains were identified. We marked off a large area around those as a buffer, and excluded all traffic and activity from that area for investigation.”
Five sets of remains or gravesite were initially discovered. Subsequent ground-penetrating radar assessments revealed eight more graves. The SEARCH received a request from Cherrywood on May 20 to send investigators to the burial site. A lead archaeologist visited the site on May 21 and completed a preliminary field assessment. On May 22, Planning & Codes issued a stop-work order “for all grading, construction, and development activity on the property in the area of discovery” in order for Cherrywood to comply with the County Code.
An archeological team returned May 27 to 29 and June 2 to map the area and protect it with blue painter’s tarpaulins as rain had been heavy during that period. Price said a detailed report about the entire site assessment to be ready by late June.
Showalter said it was his understanding that “this project intends to preserve and leave in place the remains. So, we will be doing some minor modifications to the site plan that go back to the county,” he said. “The roughly 1-acre area surrounding the remains will be taken out of the (site) plan, and we'll shift those (solar) panels to other areas.”
NextEra had filed a 12-page “Unanticipated Discoveries Plan for Cultural Resources and Human Remains” with the Department of Planning and Codes in August 2024. The plan was required by the Maryland Public Service Commission to comply with the state’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) requirements. Also required was consultation with the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT).
In a spirited discussion that illustrated a distinct contrast to the discovery of remains on the Cherrywood site, the Board turned to an unresolved issue involving a farmer who is not a stranger to controversy in the county.
Last year, Planning & Codes issued a stop-work order to Benjamin Flahart, who owns several farms in the Mid-Shore area, including a farm on Cedar Lane north of Ridgely. In violation of laws protecting wetlands, he removed trees, piling them on what neighbors reported as a possible burial site. Flahart has a history of County Code citations and MDE violations involving storage of food processing residuals (FPR), otherwise known as DAF, or dissolved air flotation.
The Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) was notified in spring 2024 of the tree removals, but the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office also obtained a search warrant to seize evidence – a tombstone marking the grave of a nine-year-old girl. The site was covered with the felled trees, but cleaning off the site and probing it yielded the headstone, which the Sheriff’s Office has in its custody, as well as a very old brick-domed tomb.
Since then, the grave has remained partially open and Flahart has not been formally notified that the gravesite was discovered. Neighbors have reported to Planning & Codes that Flahart is constructing an irrigation system, but Board members are concerned about protecting the gravesite from the irrigation equipment’s possibly damaging the fragile tomb.
However, despite attempts of Planning & Codes staff to instigate the process of protecting and remediating the burial site, state agencies have been unresponsive. Planning & Codes Board Administrator Catherine McCulley has not heard back from the MHT, nor has the MDE acted on the Department’s environmental violation complaint. State’s Attorney Sloane Franklin said there has been no criminal violation.
Board members, upon suggestions offered by Barroll and Franklin, will first contact the MHT with a “time is of the essence” request to weigh in on the issue, and will draft a letter to Flahart informing him of the site discovery and requesting an opportunity for a site inspection, but will hold it until word from the MHT arrives.
