Owner of Reno’s oldest cemetery halts plans to disinter bodies of settlers

The classic neon Reno sign welcomes visitors to downtown Reno, Nevada, September 16, 2014. (Max Whittaker/Reuters)

RENO — The owner of Reno’s oldest cemetery is suspending plans to disinter the bodies of some of the city’s earliest settlers.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that developer Drew Lawton said Sunday that he is temporarily suspending a proposal to reinter hundreds of bodies within Hillside Cemetery to make for potential land development.

In a statement, Lawton says the decision was made after “a few families’ unfavorable responses.”

The plan’s announcement last month drew immediate outcry as the cemetery dates back to the 1800s and holds the remains of Reno’s founders.

The families own many of the plots while the cemetery only owns the space in between plots.

However, many of the deeds to those plots haven’t been updated in more than 100 years.