Pioneers graves were dug Monday they same way they were 150 years ago -- by hand. With headstones and footstones facing west in the exact configuration as their original burial site, remains of 33 people from the Wright-Gentry-Whitesell Cemetery were being put to rest for a second time in the pioneer cemetery at Crown Hill Cemetery. After an intense study, remains were released from the University of Indianapolis on Friday, said Megan Tsai, INDOT spokeswoman. To curb anxiety, burial took place as soon as possible. Forensic findings will be released toward the end of summer. In the hot June sun, workers from the Indiana Department of Transportation, AMEC, Crown Hill and the University of Indianapolis used shovels, post hole diggers and augers to dig graves for the remains that were moved from the original cemetery plot to make way for highway expansion in 2012. Established in 1841, the Whitesell Cemetery was in the 8000 block of Castleton Drive. The move is estimated to cost $400,000. The remains from Whitesell will join those from Greenlawn and Rhoads cemeteries in the pioneer cemetery at Crown Hill. By lunchtime Monday, about 10 shafts were complete, with work expected to be completed by the end of Tuesday, said Shaun Miller, INDOT senior archaeological supervisor.

"Work is going great," Miller said. "We're moving quicker than anticipated."

The adult graves measure 2 feet wide, 4 feet long and 4 feet deep, and children's graves are smaller, Miller said. While the first foot and a half was easy to dig, workers hit clay and rocks deeper down and needed to use pickaxes and crowbars to bust through the rocks. Marty Davis, public relations coordinator at Crown Hill, sees the move of the Whitesell cemetery as a continuation of the beginning of Crown Hill. "Crown Hill started because of Greenlawn closing," Davis said.

Most families purchased plots at Crown Hill and moved bodies, Davis said. For those who didn't, Greenlawn Cemetery's remains were the first to be part of the pioneer cemetery, he said.

Established in 1823, more than 1,160 pioneers were buried in Greenlawn. Greenlawn was Indianapolis' first cemetery. Rhoads Cemetery was the original burial site for five pioneer families -- 12 adults and 34 children.

Unlike the first two sites, the Wright-Gentry-Whitesell Cemetery had head and footstones. Just as for Greenlawn and Rhodes, a marker will be erected telling the history of the Whitesell Cemetery, with a map of the burial sites.

Davis said the headstones are exactly like those at Whitesell.