SALTILLO - Routine maintenance on a cemetery structure Monday sent Saltillo city officials on a history hunt for the owners of a century-old tomb.

What they discovered was the burial site of the community's first physician, Dr. Peter Fields Archer, and his wife and children. They had lived in Saltillo in the 1800s.

The family now rests in Saltillo City Cemetery, each member marked by a tiny gravestone etched with a set of initials. Perched above the parents' headstones is a wooden structure resembling a gazebo.

"It's a grave house," said Mayor Bill Williams. "It's the only one like this I've ever seen."

The grave house roof needed new shingles, and the city hired to Quality Roofing to replace them. But when workers began removing the tiles, they discovered rotted wood fastened together with square - or cut - nails.

According to several online sources, square nails were commonly used between 1820-1910. Williams said he immediately realized the structure was ancient but knew nothing about the family underneath.

So he enlisted the help of Saltillo Historical Committee Chairwoman Lindy Hopkins, who researched the initials and discovered the good doctor.

"Everyone growing up had wondered what was in the little house," Hopkins said. "I remember it when I was a girl. Now we know. See, Saltillo has all these hidden treasures like this."

Weather permitting, roofers are expected to finish their repairs to the grave house today. Williams said he hope it withstands another century or so.

Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.