A new push is being made to stop the construction of a Burger King in Norwich.

In the early evening, a quiet calm settles over the rolling hills of the old Norwich town colonial burying ground. By old, we mean that the burial ground has existed for more than 300 years.

But now the tranquility could be shattered by a fast food restaurant that has plans to build right next to the burial ground. Some of the towns people came out dressed in colonial times Thursday night, reminding Burger King just how kings were treated 3 centuries ago.

Regan Miner is a consultant with the Norwich Historical Society. She says there are three generations of military families resting on the site.

“The cemetery goes back to 1699. This has a lot of our Revolutionary War Veterans here. It also has a lot of our founding families. In addition, we have a signer of the Declaration of Independence buried here, Samuel Huntington, which is a really important fact we want to hone in on.”

The Burger King parking lot would be located right up against the stonewall that starts the burial grounds. Bill Champagne is President of the Norwich Historical Society. He is concerned that as people look over this historical beauty, they’re going to be hearing, “Would you like fries with that?”.

“It is going to be a type thing to fit in, the building, the drive-thru and the parking and traffic is difficult.”

Another big question raised by local historian Daamien Cregeau is what lays beyond the walls of the burial grounds. The Norwich Historical Society would like a full archeological survey of the lot behind the stone wall. They say to put in the Burger King, builders will be digging down 25 feet, and they believe there could be more significant finds.

“That stonewall was only built in the 1800s, so who knows what or who is over there. It could be African-Americans, Native Americans, we did have slaves. So often those people were unmarked, and it would be nice to know, and get an analysis of what or who is there”, Damien Cregeau said.

The historical society has hired a lawyer and plans to fight the Burger King.