SMYRNA, Del.- Over the past month, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services has been dedicating monuments at each of the state's three potter's fields to honor the lives of the people buried there.
According to officials, 1,205 people are buried at the Kent County Potter's Field at the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill.
"It's where we bury indigent people," said DHSS Director Elaine Archantelo. The cemetery is filled with individuals who did not have loved ones and who died in state facilities. For many of the people buried at this cemetery, it was hard to identify the individuals.
"In the cemetery itself we do have markers for each grave," Archantelo said. "But there are no names on the markers."
Each burial plaque only listed a number identifying each person. There are no names or information.
"When you go to a regular cemetery, people have markers with their names right on the marker," Archantelo said. "That's not the case here."
Delaware residents who visited the potter fields and noticed this problem decided to speak out on the matter.
Daniese McMullin-Powell of New Castle County said she visited the Kent County Potter's Field many times.
"There's a friend of mine. His name is Chauncey Bailey," she explained. "Chauncey is number 1,107 and he died a few years ago."
McMullin-Powell was one of the people who came to show support and remember the lives being dedicated at the ceremony.
"To see that many to finally be remembered it's overwhelming," McMullin-Powell said.
According to the DHSS, every spring and fall it will be updating the monument to make sure every individual is remembered.
