Marti Colon cemetery collection

Henry A. Echezabal's keen interest in the Marti Colon Cemetery resulted in this collection of research materials compiled from 1997 to 2012.  From the records of the earliest burials in the 1880s, to the local news investigative report of 2000, the collection covers several different incidents and offers clues as to how the cemetery ended up embroiled in controversy over the issue of missing bodies and buryovers, covering news stories, City of Tampa records, and correspondence that shed light on the issues. The Marti Colon Cemetery found itself the center of controversy several times over the issues of multiple burials, missing bodies, neglect, and vandalism. Most of the controversy surrounds the construction of Columbus Drive, where it is suspected that several of the bodies buried that were supposed to be removed, in fact only had headstones relocated. Columbus Drive separated the cemetery in two, and the section to the north of the road was left in disrepair. A. P. Boza took lease of the cemetery in 1939, but also mismanaged the cemetery, compounding its problems. Upon Boza's death, his son refused to take up the maintenance of the cemetery, and by the late 1980s, articles began to surface concerning vandalism and grave robbing. The cemetery went unclaimed, and was eventually taken over by the City, which restored it. In 2000, an investigative report showed the extent of the mismanagement of the cemetery over time, that a large amount of the information on burials was inaccurate, perhaps as much as 1/3rd to 2/3rds of the graves inaccurately marked.