GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — The poor, the unknown and the unclaimed all buried in Grand Haven throughout the years were honored Wednesday night with a Potter's Field dedication ceremony.
People gathered at Lake Forest Cemetery to unveil eight new plaques honoring the 852 people that were buried in Grand Haven's Potter's Field.
WATCH: Hundreds buried in Grand Haven's Potter's Field honored with new memorial
"Some of them had died on shipwrecks out on the lake here or railroad accidents or people would wash up on shore from drownings and what not. Some of them had no family so they had to have a place to bury these people. That's what a potters field is," said Chuck Fuller, researcher and descendant of people buried in the field.
Potter's Fields can be found in communities throughout the state — and was the final resting place for many people who couldn't afford a proper burial.
Grand Haven's first burial was in 1837 in what is now known as Central Park.
Many of those in Grand Haven's Potter's Field were buried in unmarked graves — shoulder to shoulder and head to toe — left to be forgotten.
The Potter's Field's first burial was in 1873. Among those buried include a Spanish-American War Navy veteran, a former slave who lived to be 103 and relatives of the lead researcher on the project, Chuck Fuller.
"Years ago when I was a child I would come out here with my grandmother and she would come to this area right here with silence... And she says it bothers me because... I have four siblings and a set of Grandparents buried somewhere in here," said Fuller.
"So that's kind of what my passion was to find those people that grandma was looking for and in the process I uncovered all of this," Fuller said.
Fuller spent over 20 years researching — discovering a total of 852 people buried in Grand Haven's Potter's Field. His work culminated on Wednesday as a number of people gathered to remember those who were supposed to be forgotten.
"This field today is no longer anonymous, we name it, we honor it. We will remember them… From Granny Nelly Conitz when I was a child to this moment now. This one's for you. Thank you," said Fuller.
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