Emily Puckering
If you ever find yourself heading to Georgia in the US, and opt to fly to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, you may notice two oddly placed grey rectangles on one of the runways.
Well, these rectangles aren't just odd patches of the tarmac, like many passengers assume - they are the graves of two people who died in the late 1800s.
But why exactly do they remain at Georgia's second largest airport?
The graves, which are located at the edge of runway 10 and 28, lay to rest Catherine and Richard Dotson, the two original owners of the land that the airport is built on.
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They were both born back in 1779 and would go on to farm the land - known at the time as Cherokee Hills - together. They were married for 50 years up until Catherine's death in 1877.
Richard died seven years later in 1884, and he was laid to rest next to his wife in the family cemetery which held about 100 graves, including those of slaves, the Savannah Morning News reports.
After resting peacefully for a few decades, World War II was on the horizon and in 1942, the US military needed a place to land its B-24 'Liberators' and B-17 'Flying Fortresses'.
A lease was negotiated between the federal government and the City of Savannah for 1,100 acres, at what is now Savannah/Hilton Head International, the airport's website explains.
These acres ended up being right on top of the cemetery, meaning almost all of the graves were relocated to another local cemetery.
However, the Dotson’s relatives didn't consent to the graves of Catherine and Richard being touched and moved, as they felt that it would have been the couple's wish to remain in the land that they cultivated for most of their lives.
This gave developers no choice but to pave over the graves, and build a runway right on top of them.
As a mark of respect, markers were placed in their honor.
Catherine and Richard's grave sites - along with two beloved relatives, Daniel Hueston and John Dotson - continue to be the only ones in the world embedded in an active 9,350 foot runway, serving thousands of general and commercial aviation operations yearly.
So, if you're ever flying into Savannah, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for this unique resting place.