
In Mason City, there was a cemetery in the middle of the downtown area. It was named for the small dead-end road it was on. I had it where a large number of American Indians were killed in the 1840s and buried in a mass grave in the cemetery. I never came up with a reason until a couple weeks ago. The town founders, who were staying at nearby Fort Salinas wanted to start a town right where a small Indian village was located. While the Indians and settlers were wanting to work together to create a diverse community, the Indians wanted more rights and stake in the city than was normal. After holding out and waiting for the Indians to agree to the provisions, one of the settlers gathers a posse, captures all the men and has them all killed and buried before the bodies cool.
The settlers return to the village and burn it down, sending the remaining women and children out into the night. The other settlers and the army arrive to see what's going on and discovers the massacre. In honor of the village, the new city is moved closer to the fort and the site of where the village once stood, is left alone until around 1950.
I have it all planned out, I just need to write it which I'm hoping to do throughout this week and get it posted some time this weekend.