A Publication of the Cemetery Preservation Program





grave concerns texas historical commission branded header




July 23, 2025






Photo of an African American man posing next to the grave of an unknown laborer decorated with American and Juneteenth flats.

"Sugar Land 95" State Convict Lease Labor Camp Cemetery, Fort Bend County. Photograph courtesy of Fort Bend ISD.

Grave Concerns in Texas, July 2025

A Publication of the Cemetery Preservation Program

"The Cemetery Preservation Program of the THC supports cemetery preservation efforts in each of the 254 counties across the state. Cemetery Preservation Program staff provides consultation, educational materials, and training to concerned citizens and public officials. In addition, the program offers the Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) designation and maintains a statewide inventory of cemeteries to record and protect historic burial grounds. "

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HTC Highlight: St. Mary's Cemetery
Color photo of handmade limestone headstone with the name reading "Chester B. Wicks" located in the St. Mary's Cemetery in Pflugerville, Texas




We owe this quarter’s HTC Highlight to the dedication of Christine Robinson Jama, a descendant of Pflugerville’s early African American community who made it her mission to officially designate the resting place of her ancestors as a Historic Texas Cemetery [ [link removed] ]. 

St. Mary’s Cemetery [ [link removed] ] sits on one acre in the historic Colored Addition to Pflugerville, an independent neighborhood of Black landowners that was platted in 1910. Discover the history of the St. Mary's Cemetery on the THC blog [ [link removed] ].

*READ MORE* [ [link removed] ]


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HTC Honor Roll

We’re thrilled to announce that 24 cemeteries have received HTC designations since April 17th! Congratulations to the following cemeteries:

Official Historic Texas Cemetery Medallion
* Burrel Chapel Cemetery, Brazoria County
* Wilson Chapel Cemetery, Collin County
* Fitzhugh Cemetery, Collin County
* Barranco Blanco Cemetery, Duval County
* Jordan Cemetery, Hardin County
* New York Cemetery, Henderson County
* Greenwood Baptist Cemetery, Lamar County
* Webb Chapel Cemetery, Limestone County
* Crawford Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Golden Gate Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Jones Chapel Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Rosewood Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Oakwood Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Piney Grove Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Copeland Chapel Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Yell Pine Grove Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Vick Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Willis Rest Haven Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Mt. Zion Community Cemetery, Montgomery County
* Boardtree Cemetery, Navarro County
* Mt Zion Cemetery, Shelby County
* Bee Branch Cemetery, Stephens County
* Hudson Family Cemetery, Tarrant County
* Saint Mary's Cemetery, Travis County

Want to designate a historic cemetery you care about? Visit our website [ [link removed] ] to get more information, watch a how-to video, and download the application.



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Remembering the Sugar Land 95 on Juneteenth

Color photo of African American family members posing in front of the new historical marker dedicating the Sugarland 95 cemetery

Our friends in the Historical Markers Program [ [link removed] ] celebrated a memorable Juneteenth earlier this summer at Fort Bend ISD's marker dedication for the “Sugar Land 95” State Convict Lease Labor Camp Cemetery [ [link removed] ]. The marker honors the remains of 95 African American prisoners, dating back to the late 1800s, forced into labor under Texas’ convict leasing system. The remains were unearthed during construction of the James Reese Career and Technical Center in 2018. The 95 individuals have become known collectively as the Sugar Land 95, and in November of 2019, they were laid to rest at the site where their remains were originally found. Fort Bend ISD continues to identify any possible descendants through community outreach and DNA testing.



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Fall Workshop Registration Now Open

A group of people work to level an historic gravestone

Do you know the right way to clean, level, and repair a historic gravestone? Join us in Henderson County this October to learn from the experts!

Cemetery preservationists use special techniques, materials, and equipment to care for gravestones using a Do-No-Harm ethic. These workshops will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to undertake a gravestone preservation project successfully. Instruction will be provided by Texas Cemetery Restoration’s Rusty Brenner [ [link removed] ]. 

We will hold two workshops, both near Athens, in Henderson County:

 


* *Thursday and Friday, October 16 & 17: *A full, two-day workshop covering cleaning, leveling, and multiple types of repairs at New York Cemetery.
* *Saturday, October 18:* A half-day gravestone cleaning workshop at Fincastle Cemetery.

Space is limited to ensure a quality training experience, and advanced registration is required. Support for these programs is provided by the Lana Hughes Nelson Endowment Fund for Cemetery Preservation [ [link removed] ].



*LEARN MORE AND REGISTER* [ [link removed] ]


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ACA of Parker County Celebrates 40 Years!

A poster advertises activities at the Abandoned Cemetery Association of Parker County's 40th anniversary party.

The Abandoned Cemetery Association of Parker County, Inc. (ACA) celebrated its 40th anniversary [ [link removed] ] last month in style—with an all-day cemetery festival! Over 70 people attended the festivities at Dixon Cemetery, a cemetery under ACA’s care since 1987.

The ACA maintains more than 70 cemeteries in Parker County, ranging from small cemeteries with just one or two graves to larger sites with hundreds of burials. They consider themselves protectors of these sites, keeping an eye out for encroaching development, downed fences, and other threats. Importantly, ACA understands the role that comprehensive research and documentation play in preservation. To that end, they’ve obtained HTC designations for more than 20 of their sites in just the past 10 years.

While the ACA of Parker County is likely the longest-running organization of its kind in Texas, there are similar groups working in other counties, such as Williamson County Historical Commission’s Cemetery Restoration Volunteers network [ [link removed] ]. To learn more about how these groups operate, we sat down with ACA’s president, Bill Warren, and Williamson CHCCRV’s chair, Joe Plunkett, for a panel discussion at Real Places in 2024. Watch the recording here. [ [link removed] ]



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RGV Summer Road Trip

In June, we took a history-filled road trip to the Rio Grande Valley with four of our THC colleagues. Thank you to Gabriel Ozuna, Hidalgo CHC chairman, for inviting us to present on cemetery preservation at the South Texas CHC regional training in Edinburg. We got a chance to visit the Jackson Ranch Church and Martin Jackson Cemetery [ [link removed] ], one of the newest sites added to the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to [ [link removed] ]
Freedom [ [link removed] ]. Shout-out to Roseann Bacha-Garza with UT RGV for introducing us to the Jackson family saga. 

"Pictured left to right: Ashton Jeffers (CHC Outreach), Claudia Espinosa (South Texas Historic Preservation Project Reviewer), Alan Garcia (Cemetery Preservation Program)."



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An exterior view of the Texas State Capitol dome.
Legislative Update

Two significant pieces of cemetery legislation were signed by Governor Abbott in June.

House Bill 2723 [ [link removed] ] amends the tax code and requires appraisal districts to grant property tax exemptions to cemeteries even if the owner of the cemetery is not identifiable. In the past, some abandoned cemeteries were sold at auction due to nonpayment of taxes. The amended law will provide better protection for vulnerable cemeteries. THC staff will work with county historical commissions to support local appraisal districts in identifying cemetery locations.

Senate Bill 217 [ [link removed] ] creates the Historic Texas Freedmen’s Cemetery Designation Program. To be eligible for the designation, a cemetery must contain the grave of at least one freed slave and meet other requirements that will be set by the THC. Rules for the program should be available by early Summer 2026.



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Real Places Recap: Saving Black Austin History at Bethany Cemetery
Color photo of Juneteenth themed banners hanging on the gates outside Bethany Cemetery in Austin, Texas

This year at Real Places, we had the honor of hosting a panel discussion with the caretakers, descendants, and storytellers of Bethany Cemetery [ [link removed] ] in Austin’s historic African American community. Founded in 1893 by and for Black Austinites, Bethany Cemetery is the resting place of dozens of formerly enslaved people, Buffalo Soldiers, and early Black entrepreneurs. Despite its historic landmark status, Bethany has survived constant underfunding, vandalism, and encroachment. Recap the preservation stories and successes of Austin's first Black cemetery on the THC blog [ [link removed] ]. 

*READ MORE* [ [link removed] ]


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Famous Graves—Anita Lee Blair

1950s black and white photography studio portrait of a blind woman with her German Shepard service dog posing in front of a silk backdrop

July is Disability Pride Month [ [link removed] ], an event promoting awareness for the estimated 70 million adults in the United States who live with at least one disability. This month, we’re visiting the grave of disability activist and state legislator Anita Lee Blair [ [link removed] ] (1916-2011), who made national headlines as the first blind woman to hold elected office in the U.S.

After losing her sight in a car accident in 1936, Blair went on to earn a Master’s degree in Political Science at UT El Paso. With her guide dog Fawn, Blair entered state politics with the goal of representing Texans with disabilities and her hometown of El Paso. In 1952, Blair was elected as a Democrat to the Texas State House of Representatives (1953-1955). She was also the first woman from El Paso elected to the Texas House.

Her many legislative priorities included improving conditions at the State School for the Deaf, increasing teachers’ salaries, and co-sponsoring an ultimately unsuccessful bill to allow women to serve on juries. She was a vocal critic of Texas Governor Allan Shivers and Cold War era anti-communist legislation. In her later years, she was a community activist and frequent speaker at the El Paso City Council. Blair's last run for political office was in 2002 for the El Paso County Judge position. Following her passing, Blair was buried in the Columbarium Wall at the Texas State Cemetery [ [link removed] ] in honor of her history-making public service.





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HTCs in the News

Daugherty Cemetery in Jacksonville Receives Historic Texas [Cemetery] Designation [ [link removed] ]—Tyler Morning Telegraph (Daugherty Cemetery, Cherokee Co.)

Fort Bend ISD Receives Historical Marker for Sugar Land 95 Burial Site [ [link removed] ]—Community Impact (Sugar Land 95 State Convict Lease Labor Camp Cemetery, Fort Bend Co.)

The Legacy of the George West Cemetery: A Gift That Keeps Giving [ [link removed] ]—The Progress (George West Cemetery, Live Oak Co.)

Pear Orchard Cemetery Named 'Historic Texas Cemetery' [ [link removed] ]—Beaumont Enterprise (Pear Orchard Cemetery, Jefferson Co.)

Historic Oakwood Cemetery Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Plot Officially Reopens [ [link removed] ]—City of Austin (Oakwood Cemetery, Travis Co.)

Historic Marker Preserves Legacy of McCamey’s Black Community [ [link removed] ]—NewsWest9 (Garden of Memories, Upton County)

Georgetown Honors African American, Hispanic Heritage with New Cemetery Marker [ [link removed] ]—KEYE (Citizens Memorial Cemetery, Williamson Co.)

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Collage of conference photos
Real Places 2026: Call for Proposals Open

The THC invites cemetery preservationists to share your expertise at the annual Real Places Conference 2026, April 8–10 at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin.

We are *accepting proposals through August 15* for presentations, workshops, tours, and other sessions. Topics may include strategies for protecting historic cemeteries, developing educational tours, successful community outreach, volunteer recruitment, and sharing preservation successes. Whether you have new ideas for connecting local history or managing conservation challenges, we welcome your submission.

Join us to connect with peers, showcase your successes, and help advance cemetery preservation across Texas. Submit your proposal [ [link removed] ] or contact us for more information!

*SUBMIT A PROPOSAL* [ [link removed] ]


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