Mass grave in Pennsylvania may hold remains of 120 Irish railroad workers

A newly uncovered mass grave in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, is believed to contain the remains of as many as 120 Irish railroad workers who perished during the cholera epidemic of 1832. Many of the men are thought to have been newly arrived immigrants from Ulster, brought to America to help build the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad.

The find is being linked to the infamous Duffy’s Cut site, 11 miles away, where 57 Irish laborers from Tyrone, Derry, and Donegal were buried in a mass grave after succumbing to disease and, in some cases, violent deaths. At the time, Irish workers were often met with suspicion and hostility, and research has suggested that several of the Duffy’s Cut victims were murdered.

Archaeologists and historians have been studying the Downingtown site throughout the summer, with DNA testing expected to help trace living descendants of the Irish immigrants. The project is being led by researchers who have spent two decades documenting the experiences of Irish workers in Pennsylvania and their contribution to America’s early railroads.

The excavation is part of an ongoing effort to recover and honor the forgotten Irish who left home in search of a better life, only to be lost to history.