Bay Street Construction and Recent Shellmound Removal

After the last of the paint and pesticide factories closed in this area, the buildings were removed and the site was purchased by mall developers. Because the previous excavation was performed with 1920s machinery, the job was not thorough. It turned out that almost eight feet of shellmound still existed. Despite protests, hundreds of bodies were dug up. Some of them were relocated, but because of the toxic nature of the factories in the area, many of the remains had to be taken with the soil to Texas and were incinerated as chemical waste. The only concession granted to the Ohlone was the construction of the shellmound memorial you just visited. It is likely that many more bodies remain under most of this mall, the streets, and the sidewalk you are currently standing on.