VCU news

By Mike Porter

Virginia Commonwealth University leaders and members of the East Marshall Street Well Project Family Representative Council, planning committee and implementation committee will welcome the return to Richmond of 19th-century human remains discovered in an abandoned well on the MCV Campus.

The remains, uncovered 25 years ago during construction of the Hermes A. Kontos Medical Sciences Building, are believed to be largely of African descent and were sent to the Smithsonian Institution for further study. Upon their return to Richmond, the remains will be housed at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 

Interested community members are invited to meet in the lobby of the McGlothlin Medical Education Center, 1201 E. Marshall St., on Monday, Nov. 25, at 1 p.m. to await the return. Participants will line both sides of the 300 block of North 12th Street to welcome the return of the remains, which are expected to arrive at 1:15 p.m. A brief program will follow in the Kontos Auditorium, 1217 E. Marshall St.  Those interested in attending are encouraged to use GRTC Pulse. The VCU Medical Center stop is a short distance away.

Members of the media are invited to cover the procession and the program. Limited media parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis in the West Hospital Circle, 1200 E. Broad St.

More information about the East Marshall Street Well Project and efforts to further study, memorialize and rebury the remains is available at emsw.vcu.edu.