Traverse City Record-Eagle

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June 29, 2010

Remains of state's first gov. believed found

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DETROIT (AP) — A crypt and coffin containing what officials believe are the remains of Michigan's first governor were uncovered Tuesday by work crews renovating a small Detroit park.

The approximately one-day search for Stevens T. Mason's remains ended about 3 p.m. when the claw bucket of an excavator scraped along the crypt's concrete top while digging next to the former governor's monument in a corner of Capitol Park.

A gray metallic coffin could be seen inside the 6-foot-long crypt.

"It was about six to seven feet down," project Superintendent Cedric Hesley said.

Dirt was poured back into the hole to keep the crypt protected until Thursday morning, when it will be hauled to the surface.

If the remains inside are confirmed to be those of Mason, they will be reburied in another area of the park, Hesley said.

Mason, known as Michigan's boy governor, was a leader in the push for statehood in the early-1800s.

President Andrew Jackson appointed him acting territorial secretary at age 19. He became acting territorial governor three years later at age 22, according to state of Michigan records.

Mason was elected governor in 1835, two years before Michigan became a state. He served in that capacity until 1839.

Mason left the state and moved to New York to practice law. He contracted pneumonia and died in 1843. His body remained buried in a New York cemetery until it was exhumed and returned to Detroit in 1905 to be placed in Capitol Park.

City economic officials are giving a facelift to the long-neglected downtown park, the site of Michigan's first state capitol. As part of the plan, Mason's statue and remains will be moved from a traffic-busy corner to a more central section overlooking the triangular-shaped park.

The 8-foot tall statue was moved offsite for restoration after the park renovation started, after which the hunt for Mason's remains began beneath the monument's pedestal and base. Officials were initially unsure they would be found after discovering no sign of them Monday.

"Lo and behold, we lifted the pedestal. There's a giant concrete foundation and we can't find the body," project architect Charles Merz said about two hours before the crypt was located.

The entire project is expected to be completed sometime in August, Hesley said. The park's renovation is being paid by a federal dollars and private grants. The cost of searching for, and removing, the remains will fall to the state.

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