An aging metal sign erected by the Chester County Historical Society in 1908 stands partially obscured by a tree along a curvy rural road in tiny Newlin Township to commemorate theLenape people buried on the knoll just above.
Carol McCloskey has owned that knoll, now dense with woods, since 1987.
Now planning her estate, she wants to donate the property, preferably to Native Americans, to ensure its preservation. But finding a good steward for the land has been more complicated than she thought. So far she’s found no takers for her half-acre lot, the only officially recognized Native American burial site in Chester County.
“I thought it should go to the rightful owners,” McCloskey said, referring to the Lenape people. Previously, she had no luck trying to donate the land to a federally recognized tribe, and now is restarting the process and willing to expand the pool of potential recipients.
“I want to give it to someone who appreciates it,” she said. “I want the right people to have it.”
The burial site is a leftover wedge sliced out ofthe 170 acres, known as Indian Knoll Farm, McCloskey subdivided into 10-acre lots in 1987. The few motorists humming along Brandywine Drive each day likely don’t even notice the sign or the property as it rises steeply above the road.
McCloskey, who lives in nearby Willistown Township, has a conservation easement that ensures the land can never be developed. Because of that, it is assessed at $500 and the taxes are only a few dollars a year.
“My daughter and I have been trying to donate this for a couple of years,” McCloskey said. “But the Lenape group years ago moved out west. So there’s no one around to talk to or deal with in Pennsylvania. As a burial ground, you can’t do anything with it. It’s overgrown….
