PLATTE CITY, MO. ? The relocation of five homestead cemeteries on Kansas City International Airport property must wait until a legal guardian for the cemeteries can be appointed, a judge has ruled.

The city’s Aviation Department wants to consolidate the cemeteries, to clear the way for development.

But descendants of the pioneers buried there have raised concerns about the possibility of unmarked graves, perhaps those of slaves, although city officials do not think such graves exist.

“Somehow it has become a local myth that there is a slave cemetery there,” said archaeologist Craig Sturdivant, hired by the city for the relocation project.

On Friday, Platte County Circuit Judge Abe Shafer said he would appoint a guardian before ruling on the Aviation Department’s consolidation request.

Olin Miller, a Platte City resident who testified against the consolidation request, praised Shafer’s ruling.

“The unknown folks, whether they were slaves or not, they’re not going to be forgotten,” Miller said.

Miller would rather the cemeteries be left alone.

“Some folks don’t care,” he said. “But others care intensely that the first folks’ graves should be cared for and honored.”

Burials in the cemeteries began in the early 1800s, and they continued to serve as family burial grounds for decades.