• 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 to get more information, watch a how-to video, and download the application.

Our friends in the Historical Markers Program 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. 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.

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. 

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.

The Abandoned Cemetery Association of Parker County, Inc. (ACA) celebrated its 40^th anniversary 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. 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.

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, one of the newest sites added to the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to
Freedom. 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).

Legislative Update

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

House Bill 2723 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 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.

July is Disability Pride Month, 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 (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 in honor of her history-making public service.