UPDATE: Fence Installed At Historic Burying Ground Removed Over Weekend

The fence installed on the town property was removed over the weekend, but the hedge still remains.

According to Town Clerk Sundy Schermeyer the fence was removed sometime on Sunday, although she said the property owner did not have permission to do so and has violated the town-issued cease and desist letter barring him from the property. It is unclear what action the town will take next.

The goal, Ms. Schermeyer said, was for the town to supervise the removal of the fence posts that were drilled into the cemetery ground to make sure any potentially disturbed historical artifacts could be removed and studied. However, since the fence was removed, that was not possible.

Southampton Town officials are threatening legal action against the owners of a James Street home they say illegally installed a hedge and constructed a 10-foot-tall fence in the oldest cemetery in the town.

According to Southampton Town Clerk Sundy Schermeyer, the Old Southampton Burying Ground on Little Plains Road is home to the remains of some of the first settlers of Southampton.

This week, she said, the town discovered that the owners of the property abutting the historic cemetery, 40 James Street, listed as Mirek Denis and Anne Chwat, had erected the fence and installed the hedge on the property without permission, approximately 10 feet inside the property line on the town’s side. The discovery prompted the town to file a police report with the Southampton Village Police—noting that although it is a town-owned property, it does lie in the Village of Southampton.

Mr. Denis did not return a call from The Press seeking comment on Friday morning.

On Thursday, the town issued a cease and desist letter to Mr. Denis and Ms. Chwat, saying entering the Town property again would constitute trespassing. The property owners could also face misdemeanor charges of desecrating a historic site, Ms. Schermeyer said.

“It has come to the attention of the Town of Southampton that you have illegally installed both a hedge and a large deer fence on property owned by the Town of Southampton,” the letter signed by Town Attorney Tiffany Scarlato reads. “Namely the Old Southampton Burying Ground, which contains remains dating back to 1650. It is possible that the illegal installations have tampered with unmarked grave sites.”

The area, Ms. Schermeyer explained, has several historic headstones, but there is evidence that people were also buried in unmarked graves along the outskirts of the property. It is unclear how many people are buried in the property.

By digging the necessary holes to install the deer fence and the hedge, Ms. Schermeyer—who also serves on the Town’s Historic Burying Ground Committee—said it was possible that historical artifacts were upturned and moved and that remains could have been disturbed.

Ms. Schermeyer said the Burying Ground Committee will be holding an emergency meeting to determine what would be the least intrusive option, either leaving the fence and hedge in place, or carefully removing them to sift the dirt.

“In light of what has happened here, there needs to be raised awareness as to the importance of these cemeteries,” Ms. Schermeyer said this week.