Save Texas Cemeteries, Inc
P.O. Box 20975
Austin, TX 78729
(512) 258-5688.

New Preservation Organization Formed

'Save Texas Cemeteries' Rescues Texas Grave Sites

Save Texas Cemeteries, Inc. was organized in November 1994 as a statewide nonprofit education corporation to help save all cemeteries in the State of Texas from destruction. The mission of the group is to promote the preservation of historic cemeteries and burial grounds throughout Texas by public education and historic research in order to preserve the rich, multi-cultural heritage of the state's history for future generations.

The organization has established ambitious goals that it hopes to accomplish within the next five years. Those include:

•· Locate and identify every cemetery/burial site in Texas; •· Establish a computer database of all cemetery/burial sites; •· Publish a newsletter to keep members informed; •· Establish a telephone hotline to call and report problems or acts of vandalism; •· Help stop destruction and neglect of Texas cemeteries; •· Appoint a Save Texas Cemeteries chairperson in every Texas county; and •· Keep abreast of taxation, legislation, deeds, and survey regulations concerning cemeteries.

Not even two years old yet, the organization has already begun to accomplish some of those goals. In its January 1996 newsletter "The Gravestone Speaks", which is in its second year of publication, Save Texas Cemeteries, Inc. reports that 7,000 cemeteries are now listed in its computer database. Members estimate that more than 50,000 cemeteries may exist in Texas, and they have asked for the assistance of everyone in reporting burial sites in their area to STC.

The newsletter encourages local participation in the upkeep of cemeteries and reported the recent cleanup efforts of citizens in Conroe's Oakwood Cemetery, at the Hispanic Cemetery in Georgetown, at Hays County's Antioch Cemetery, and in the Sabinetown Cemetery in Sabine County. The publication also reported an act of vandalism in the Fairview Cemetery in Bastrop that damaged more than 80 gravestones.

In an effort to educate the public about its efforts, Save Texas Cemeteries will be presenting a program entitled "Discovering Texas Cemeteries: A Statewide Survey" at the Texas Historical Commission Preservation Conference in Amarillo. The session is set for Saturday, May 4, at 8:30 a.m.

STC President Karen Thompson encourages anyone interesting in joining their cause to write for an information brochure and membership application. Memberships start as low as $20/year. Contact the group at Save Texas Cemeteries, Inc., P.O. Box 20975, Austin, TX 78729, (512) 258-5688.