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Redwood City's vast Elco Yards development is the site of an ancient Native American burial ground, and for at least a year, an undisclosed number of skeletal remains – some perhaps hundreds or thousands of years old – were uncovered while excavating for the underground parking structure.
The burial grounds, which were uncovered between 2022 and 2023, shed light on a potentially significant ancient site that is a long-forgotten part of Redwood City's history and one that seemed to be largely discounted and thought to have been destroyed long ago.
The South Main Mixed-Use Project, or Elco Yards, 1601 El Camino Real, is a nearly $600 million multiple-use development covering 8.3 acres and six blocks on multiple parcels.
A consultant's evaluation of the site, which is located in the 1300 block of Main Street, found the soil was thoroughly disturbed from previous earth moving and construction over the years. AECOM, the consultant for the developer, IQHQ, determined the Elco Yards development didn't have significant historical or pre-conquest value because it was so disturbed.
But with the discovery of the skeletal remains, whether that evaluation still stands remains an open question. Neither the developer, IQHQ, nor the City of Redwood City would discuss the findings.
The city and the developer have kept the discovery under wraps, with the city stating state law protects details of archaeological findings, such as what was found and the location.
Jennifer Yamaguma, deputy city manager, said that aside from information that is protected and exempt from disclosure under state law, the landowner is required to consider the most likely descendant’s recommendations for treatment of the remains in accordance with Public Resources law.
"Therefore, the city is not at liberty to share information without the most likely descendant’s consent. The city underscores that this is an exceptionally sensitive issue and we hold the highest respect for those concerned," Yamaguma said in an Oct. 5 email.
"The city can confirm that the remains were discovered between the summers of 2022 and 2023. The project’s qualified archeologist contacted the San Mateo County Coroner when the remains were encountered. It is unknown how unusual it is to find Native American remains during construction and excavation projects in Redwood City," she said.
The discovery might have remained quiet except for observant business owners whose establishments are adjacent to the site. They saw a flurry of activity, then a tent over the area where archaeologists were brushing off remains in a deep pit dug by a backhoe, first in June 2022 and later in the summer of 2023. Work at the massive development ceased near the location during that time, they said.
"I asked what they found, and they said, 'Oh, just some rocks,'" the owner of a nearby establishment, who didn't want his name published, said. He later saw a photograph a worker had taken of a skull and an elbow right across from his door. They dug below the burial mound and found multiple skeletons, he said.
"They dug and put in new lines and fiber optic cables. The (native) elders came and blessed the remains and they were to be taken where they could properly be buried," he said.
The Pulse hasn't been able to confirm how many skeletons were found. The city and the developer have not provided any details.
The business owner said the remains were likely not previously discovered because no one had dug that deeply before. Now they are digging underground parking garages for Elco Yards, he said.
But the area is known to have had an ancient shell mound. Shell mounds, or shell middens, are deposits of mollusks and organic material built up over time by native peoples. They are also often burial sites, with remains buried underneath and shells and other materials added on top over time. Some can be as tall as a three-story building, such as a large mound in Emeryville on Shellmound Road.
The Main Street shell mound was significant enough in the mid-1800s to also have earned the name of a street.
"From the intersection of Maple Street to Woodside Road, Main Street was once called Mound Street because it traversed the top of an old Indian mound," according to a 2014 Historic Resources Advisory Committee report, "Main Street Historic District Expansion."
An 1861 map of Hancock's Addition, a subdivision in Redwood City, shows the location of Mound Street, where it would have crossed the shell mound near the present site.
In recent times, this archaeological site was identified during utility installation in 2001 and described as having prehistoric and historic-era components, according to the Final Draft EIR by consultants AECOM.
But researchers also theorized that the area "could be the result of grading and redeposition," (a secondary deposit) since the entire site was described as being “disturbed by historic and modern construction activities possibly as early as the 1850s," according to the EIR.
However, a 2010 archaeological study cited in the EIR expanded the site boundaries despite the disturbed soils.
The site was recommended as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D – likely to yield information regarding important questions in prehistory and history.
For the Elco Yards project, AECOM conducted a drill- and excavated-trenches survey in July and September 2019, boring five holes as deep as 38 feet and digging four trenches as deep as five feet below the surface. While they identified small pieces of flaked rock and some mollusk shells associated with native inhabitants, "no clearly prehistoric cultural materials were recovered from the other trenches or bores," AECOM found. The report concluded that the portion of the archaeological site in the project area "was not a historical resource or a unique archaeological resource for the purposes of CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act)."
In a separate development at an adjacent site, Stantec, consultants for 1180 Main St., requested a Sacred Lands File search and a Native American contact list for the project site in 2018 from the California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC). The NAHC responded that “no culturally sensitive properties were located within or near the project site," according to Stantec's 1180 Main Street Project, Cultural Resources Inventory and Evaluation Report in 2019.
Yet, both Stantec's and AECOM's reports determined that "the potential exists for the cumulative projects to encounter previously unidentified cultural resources, including archeological resources, during ground-disturbing activities. Disturbance of these resources during the construction of the proposed project or other cumulative projects could result in "significant cumulative impacts" on archeological resources. "The contribution of the proposed project could be cumulatively considerable," AECOM wrote.
In the event of finding human remains or significant artifacts, a mitigation plan identified in the environmental impact report would reduce the impacts to "less than significant," the EIR found.
The mitigation measures included worker training to reduce damage to the remains and artifacts, stopping work within the area and in a surrounding buffer zone, bringing in an archaeologist to evaluate the finds, and notifying the nearest tribal descendants.
For significant finds, a data recovery plan must be filed with the California Office of Historic Preservation's Northwest Information Center. The center and the city didn't confirm whether a data recovery plan had been submitted. Construction projects where significant archaeological finds are found are required to stop their work until the data recovery plan is approved.
The public isn't likely to find out if – or how – significant the findings are. The number of individuals found, their genders and ages, their condition and the depth at which they were found aren't being divulged by the city.
Yamaguma said – and California law states – the city isn't required to disclose records relating to archaeological site information, including reports held by the Department of Parks and Recreation, the State Historical Resources Commission, the State Lands Commission, the Native American Heritage Commission, or another state or local agency, or records the agency obtains through consultation between a California Native American tribe and a state or local agency.
Requests for comment from the Amah-Mutsun Tribal Band of Mission San Juan Bautista (whose leader is located in Woodside), regarding whether the city and developer followed their recommendations weren't returned.
State legislation Assembly Bill 52, Native American Consultation, requires the lead agency in a development to begin consultation with any California Native American tribe that is traditionally and culturally affiliated with the geographic area of the proposed project – if the tribe requests the lead agency – in writing, to be informed through a formal notification of proposed projects in areas traditionally and culturally affiliated with the tribe. The tribe must also respond in writing within 30 days of receipt of the formal notification and request the consultation.
No California Native American tribes requested consultation from the lead agency, Redwood City, according to AECOM. Letters to six representatives of potentially affected Native American tribes were sent by certified mail in July 2019. The letters summarized the proposed project, described the potentially affected cultural resources, and solicited feedback from the tribes. They were sent a Notice of Availability of the Draft EIR, but the consultants said they didn't receive any input at the time of the final EIR in October 2020.
Where are the bones?
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, a descendant of the Ramaytush, the tribe that inhabited the San Francisco Peninsula and claims the area as its ancestral lands, said she was unaware of the findings. She also questioned what happened to the remains.
"Yesterday was the first time I learned about this. I'm very concerned about the treatment of our ancestors. Where are those remains? We want them back so we can do a ceremony and proper burial," said Catalina Gomes, executive director of the nonprofit Muchia Te' Indigenous Land Trust.
The Redwood City burials are a significant find, one that should be handled with great care, Gomes said.
"This is a very meaningful and very emotional time," she said. "Because it is a shell mound and there are so many burials there, it is a sacred site to us. It is our sacred site. We don't need to inflict more drama on ourselves or our ancestors.”
Jonathan Cordero, metush, or chairman of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples and executive director of The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, could not be reached for comment as he is currently on medical leave, according to his email response. Gregg Castro, the association's cultural director, could not be reached for comment.
