Cemeteries are a slice of history. If the occupants could only talk to us, what
fabulous stories we would hear--the birth, life and death of husbands, wives, children,
how they came to Texas and from where; first-hand knowledge of the Civil War, the
Spanish-American War, World Wars One and Two, the Korean War, and the Viet Nam
Conflict by those who were there. Eight cemeteries I have researched on their historical
properties are- Bear Creek Methodist Church and Cemetery, Tullos Cemetery, Hebert
(Herbert) Cemetery, Tom Richardson Cemetery, Mount Zion Cemetery, Connor
Cemetery, Greenwood Cemetery, and Fitch Cemetery. Toppled tombstones and
vandalism is a common problem with abandoned and neglected cemeteries which are
often covered in trees and thick underbrush. It is difficult even to discern if a cemetery
exists but often word of mouth by local inhabitants will guide the seekers to an area.
Bear Creek Methodist Church and Cemetery is in Harris County. It was founded
in 1840 by Germans and it has the Texas Historic Commission plaque. It has been
surveyed and its inventory includes 262 known interments with its postings on
www.usgwarchives.net/tx/harris/cemeteries/bearcreek/bearcreek.htm. There are no
photos of grave markers, just the list of names with basic facts. The keeper of the website
is Colin Malone whose address is . There are six known veterans
buried in the cemetery--Civil War-1, Spanish American-1, World War Two-3, and Viet
Nam Conflict-1.
Tullos Cemetery is in Trinity County. The Cemetery’s full name is Johnson-
Tullos Cemetery and it is not marked with the Texas historical plaque. It has been
surveyed and its inventory includes 105 interments of known marked plots. Its internet
known veterans buried in the cemetery--World War Two-7, Korean War-1, and Viet Nam
Conflict-3. One joint husband/wife marker had the word “wife” deliberately vandalized
and scratched off, but she was still there beside him in death. I would like to know what
would possess a person to do that to another‘s headstone.
Hebert (Herbert) Cemetery is in Jefferson County, located near Beaumont on
Fannett Road, and is one of those cemeteries that has been sadly neglected and
overgrown. It has not been surveyed. It is a private family cemetery with only five
visible headstones. The oldest is Louis Hebert 1764-1844. The most “recent” being a 16-
year-old girl whose name and specific dates are indecipherable, but locals said there had
not been any burials since well before 1900. Linda McMahen, coordinator of the
Jefferson County Historical Commission sent a photo to me of two toppled headstones
with a tree lying across them. It is unknown if there are any veterans buried there.
Tom Richardson Cemetery is in Chambers County. It is not marked with the
Texas historical plaque. It has been surveyed and its inventory includes 48 interments of
known marked plots and many unmarked graves. In a wooded area is the original section
with one marked stone. Its website is
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txchambe/cemeteries/tomrichardson.htm . There are three
known veterans buried in the cemetery--World War Two-2, Viet Name Conflict-1.
Mount Zion Cemetery is located in Trinity County in Apple Springs, with the
project by Letty Harington () and includes 122 known interments.
Its information site is
www.freepages.geneology.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gonetotexas/East-TX-
cemeteries/newzion.htm . There are ten known veterans buried in the cemetery--World
War One-1, World War Two-four (one being a woman), Korean War-1, and Viet Nam
Conflict-4.
Connor Cemetery is located in Houston County and it is marked with the Texas
Historic Commission plaque. It has been indexed by family clusters with approximately
469 marked graves. The three main family plots are Connor, McKinney and Patton. The
inventory has been posted on the internet and can be found at
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txhouso/cemeteries/connor.htm. There are twenty-eight
known veterans buried in the cemetery--Civil War-5, World War One-2, World War
Two-17, Korean War-2, and Viet Nam Conflict-2. A white woman, Sarah McKinney
Connor chose the site for a Black slave baby to be buried there in 1859. There are several
unmarked and unidentifiable graves in the older sections of the cemetery. One headstone
said “Sam Green, Age 28, Killed by Lightning.”
Greenwood Cemetery is in Wills Point, in Van Zandt County. I was very
surprised that it is not designated a Texas Historic Commission cemetery. The 339
interments were very well indexed and can be found at www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&GSmid=47085494&CRid=3942&pt=Greenwood%20Cemetery. It is
a Black cemetery and it can boast the most veterans--54. World War One-6, World War
Two-30, Korean War-7, Viet Nam Conflict-11, and Gulf War-1. It is the best organized
and maintained of the ten cemeteries. There were a couple of handmade grave markers--
poured cement stepping stone-size with the names and dates hand written and left to dry.
This cemetery had more endearing epitaphs than the other cemeteries. The plots were
better kept, free from leaves, grass was clipped around the markers.
Fitch Cemetery is in Cherokee county and it is not a historical cemetery. Of the
65 marked sites, 36 of them have the sir name of Fitch. There is only one veteran from
World War Two. The marked sites were originally catalogued in 1970 and were updated
in 2003. Those responsible for the site upkeep can be found at .
been prohibited by city ordinances. Most cemeteries were started out of need as traveling
was difficult to transport a loved one’s remains to a large established cemetery.
Exploring on the internet got me closer to the history of Texas and the people who came
here to settle. In a way it is like time traveling looking at marker dates, many with heart-
wrenching epitaphs, especially the loss of a child. I have a few people from the Texas
Historical Commission to thank because without them I could not have done this paper.
Anne Shelton, Linda McMahen, and Bob Brinkman helped me get around those
figurative brick walls I kept hitting while doing research.
Works Cited
Works Consulted
Bob Brinkman-marker program coordinator.
www.thc.state.tx.us/cemeteries/cemrip.shtml. Document Rescuing a Neglected
Cemetery.
Linda McMahen-Texas Historical Commission.
Anne Shelton-coordinator of the Cemetery Preservation Program
www.thc.state.tx.us/contactus.cotdefault.shtml
