Cemetery Preservation | Texas Historical Commission

Cemeteries are among the most valuable of historic resources. They are reminders of various settlement patterns, such as villages, rural communities, urban centers, and ghost towns. Cemeteries can reveal information about historic events, religions, lifestyles, and genealogy.

Names on gravemarkers serve as a directory of early residents and reflect the ethnic diversity and unique population of an area. Cultural influence in gravemarker design, cemetery decoration, and landscaping contribute to the complete narrative of Texas history. Established in large part for the benefit of the living, cemeteries perpetuate the memories of the deceased, giving a place character and definition.

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is aware of about 14,000 cemeteries in Texas, and this number continues to rise. These range from single, isolated, and often unmarked graves to expansive cemeteries spanning hundreds of acres and reaching up to hundreds-of-thousands of burials.

Unfortunately, historic cemeteries do not necessarily remain permanent reminders of our heritage. Across Texas, they are threatened by development and expanding urban areas, natural forces such as weathering and uncontrolled vegetation, lack of fences to keep cattle from toppling headstones, and vandalism and theft, including removal of headstones and objects. Neglect accelerates and compounds the process.

The THC’s Cemetery Preservation Program offers technical assistance to assist concerned citizens and local and regional organizations with their cemetery preservation efforts. The program administers the Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) designation process to record and protect historic cemeteries across the state. Participation can lead to a strong and long-lasting preservation effort.

The THC offers guidelines (PDF) to aid in the preservation of the state’s historic cemeteries. However, this information alone is not enough to protect them; preservation starts with you. Individuals and groups interested in saving these irreplaceable cultural resources of Texas’ heritage are the driving force in long-term preservation.

Preserving Historic Cemeteries: Texas Preservation Guidelines

Disaster can strike historic cemeteries in many forms, from weather-related threats like hurricanes and tornados to human-made threats like vandalism. This series of webinars provides guidance to stewards of historic cemeteries to better prepare for and respond to future disasters. Viewers can expect to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to assess risks; prevent or minimize disaster-related damages; prioritize and carry-out post-disaster stabilization and response work; and to generally build greater resiliency to withstand and recover from disasters.
These webinars were developed specifically with hurricanes in mind. However, the guidance is equally applicable to disasters of all kinds. The information can also help caretakers start or enhance general cemetery preservation projects.
Webinars
Webinar 1 - Lay of the Land: Pre-Disaster Cemetery Orientation
View the recording here.
Prepare for an emergency situation by getting back to basics. Gain a better understanding of the significance of historic cemeteries and the importance of building a base of community support before disaster strikes.

Download handouts from this webinar:
- Presentation Slides
- Resources List
Webinar 2 - Cemetery Survey and Data Collection: Pre-Disaster Documentation
View the recording here.
In this webinar, learn the importance of pre-disaster documentation and how to do it. Get tips for creating, maintaining, and storing all types of documentation, including burial records, maps, inventories, condition assessments, and photographs.

Download handouts from this webinar:
- Presentation Slides
- Resources List
- Markers and Monument Styles
- Cemetery Survey form
- Cemetery Resource Survey form (for recording individual features)
Webinar 3 - Risk Assessment and Pre-Disaster Planning for Historic Cemeteries
View the recording here.
Learn to assess the potential threats, existing issues, and possible conditions your cemetery may experience during a disaster event. Then, build a step-by-step plan that can help reduce the impact of a disaster.
Download handouts from this webinar:
Webinar 4 - Sound the Alarm! Immediate Response to Disaster in Historic Cemeteries
View the recording here.
Participants in this webinar will leave with tools for prioritizing response actions immediately leading up to and following a natural disaster. We discuss coordinating efforts with local responders; identifying sources of funding support and technical assistance; and how to document the damage post-disaster.

Download handouts from this webinar:
Webinar 5 - Post-Disaster Recovery and Restoration
View the recording here.
In this webinar, we review typical disaster-related deterioration mechanisms, illustrate basic restoration and conservation strategies, and outline restoration issues that will require professional assessment and conservation/repair.

Download handouts from this webinar:
- Presentation Slides
- Resources List
- Treatment Form (also known as a Conservator's Report)
Webinar 6 - Building Resiliency in Historic Cemeteries
View the recording here.
A resilient historic cemetery has the capacity to adapt to changing conditions and to prepare for, withstand, and rapidly recover from disruptions, including those brought on by natural disasters. In this webinar, we re-examine all of the key components for building a resilient cemetery. Learn how to set attainable goals in the areas of preservation maintenance, safety, community involvement, and funding support to ensure the cemetery you care about can endure whatever challenge it might face.

Download handouts from this webinar:
- Presentation Slides
- Resources List
About This Webinar Series
This series of six webinars was produced in 2022-23 as part of a training program funded by a grant from the National Park Service’s Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund to address the consequences of Hurricane Harvey on historic properties. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not constitute endorsement or necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior or U.S. Government.
The THC's Cemetery Preservation Program offers a framework to help a County Historical Commission (CHC) shape its cemetery-related program of work. This framework emphasizes county-wide efforts versus individual cemetery projects. The THC recommends this approach because it encourages activities that benefit the greatest number of resources, and it helps prioritize those that are most endangered. It also helps a CHC align its cemetery-related work with the statutory assignments outlined by the local government code.
This webpage contains resources designed to assist CHCs in understanding the framework and carry out activities suggested by THC. Content is organized into four modules which reflect the framework’s four core components. Each module consists of a short training webinar led by THC staff, a printable PDF copy of the presentation slides, guidance documents or tip sheets, and links to other relevant resources.
Introduction to the Framework
Learn about why this framework was developed for CHCs; how the framework can be used for effective county-wide cemetery preservation programs; and and view the framework's four core components: identify, connect, assess, and cultivate.
- Introductory video (28 minutes)
- Presentation slides
- Handout: Framework for Preservation
Framework Part 1: Identify
This component of the framework focuses on building and maintaining a comprehensive, county-wide inventory of all cemeteries known to exist in the county along with their exact locations. We also discuss the importance of the inventory as a planning tool.
- Training video (44 minutes)
- Presentation slides
  Resources referenced in the presentation:
  - THC's Historic Sites Atlas
  - How to Find Cemeteries in the Atlas
  - Tips for County-Wide Cemetery Inventory, plus a Sample Inventory Form
  - Filing Notices of Abandoned or Unverified Cemeteries (see section above)
Framework Part 2: Connect
Part 2 of the framework emphasizes the importance of building connections with the caretakers of each cemetery and helping them make connections with potential stakeholders. Also learn about how to conduct research to determine ownership of abandoned sites.
- Training video (40 minutes)
- Presentation slides
  Resources referenced in the presentation:
Framework Part 3: Assess
The third component of the framework focuses on how to identify endangerment factors and prioritize preservation needs for cemeteries. Staying current on cemetery laws and preservation standards is integral to the effort.
- Training video (32 minutes)
- Presentation slides
  Resources referenced in the presentation:
Framework Part 4: Cultivate
The framework's final component emphasizes how cultivating public awareness, appreciation, and understanding of historic cemeteries can help recruit new stewardship and build overall capacity for preserving these special places.
- Training video (35 minutes)
- Presentation slides
  Resources referenced in the presentation:
  - Cemetery Talking Points
  - Sample Cemetery Lesson Plan
  - Video: Community Engagement in Historic Cemeteries (video begins at timestamp 4:52)
  - Video: Grandview Cemetery's Grassroots Revitalization
About the Framework
Development of this framework grew out of a 2019 study project to better understand the full range of CHCs cemetery-related activities and to identify the ways THC can best support CHCs in their efforts. Excerpts from the study project are available here.
The Texas Historical Commission’s (THC) Cemetery Preservation Program coordinator responds to public inquiries, manages the Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) designation process, updates the THC Historic Sites Atlas, and focuses on providing technical assistance to help preserve and protect endangered historic cemeteries. The Cemetery Program also managed the RIP Guardian volunteer network from 2006 to 2012.
Historic Texas Cemetery Designation
The concept for the HTC Cemetery Designation program began to take shape in the late 1980s as a result of unease expressed to the THC from concerned citizens about the future of endangered cemeteries. The HTC designation program was established in 1996 when the THC received state funding to establish a temporary full-time position offering cemetery preservation assistance. By 1997, the program was fully funded and the first HTC designation was recorded in 1998.
Today, more than 2,300 historic cemeteries have been designated as Historic Texas Cemeteries through the efforts of local volunteers, preservationists, and avocational and professional historians and archeologists. Each of Texas’ 254 counties has at least one cemetery designated as an HTC.
Historic Cemetery Survey Efforts (2001–2005)
In 2001, the THC began the RIP (Record, Investigate, and Protect) Phase I survey of cemeteries as a way to identify, record, and populate the new THC Historic Sites Atlas with cemetery locations and additional information. Transportation enhancement program funding allowed for continued cemetery location identification and conditions assessment, such as endangerment levels, until 2005.
The first step in the survey process was to inventory known cemeteries from USGS maps. Here, cemetery feature location information from USGS quad maps was digitally entered into the Atlas. This was a manual process, as the cemetery feature layer did not exist electronically at the time. This initial data entry process took about two years.
The next phase in the process was to gather cemetery location and endangerment levels. This step, which began in 2003, collected field data from 49 of the fastest-growing counties in the state at that time.
As time and money for the initiative ran low, archival inventories were compiled in an additional 64 counties, which recorded limited information including cemetery name, location, and source information. Information gathered in these inventories populated the Atlas and was distributed to county historical commission members who were encouraged to use the information to enhance their local identification and preservation efforts.
West Texas Cemetery Preservation Initiative (2007–2009)
Endangerment and the lack of HTC designations in the West Texas and Panhandle area of the state was increasingly apparent, so funding sources were sought to fund a designation and preservation initiative in those areas from 2007 to 2009. The West Texas Cemetery Preservation initiative was instigated to assist local preservationists in obtaining a HTC designation.
At the beginning of the initiative, 50 counties in the West Texas and Panhandle areas did not have a single designation. By 2007, each of these counties had benefited from one-on-one consultation with program staff, a completed HTC designation, and a procedures notebook for completing additional applications. Contributing foundations and donors included the Permian Basin Area Foundation, the Dodge Jones Foundation of Abilene, and a generous donation from former THC commissioners Shirley and Clifton Caldwell of Albany.
As a result of the RIP Phase I Survey and the West Texas Cemetery Preservation Initiative, preservationists across the state have designated at least one HTC in each Texas county.
RIP Guardian Volunteer Network 2006–2012
In 2006, the THC established a statewide network of cemetery preservation volunteers dedicated to protecting historic burial grounds in Texas. The RIP Guardian Network was designed to empower members with proper cemetery restoration and preservation techniques they can share with others. The THC continues to provide technical assistance and education to preservationists across the state, and encourages them to investigate, survey, record, and protect local history by championing a historic cemetery.
THC no longer administers the RIP Guardian program. However, technical support and recommendations for the protection of historic cemeteries are still available from our staff.
What Can You Do?
Today, cemetery preservation must start with you. By gathering a group of interested volunteers from your community, you can save an endangered or abandoned cemetery. Learn more about what you can do.

Cemetery Links

Cemetery Preservation Resources

Cemetery Preservation

Historic Texas Cemetery Designation

Cemetery Laws

Funding for Cemetery Care

Cemetery Discovery and Notice of Existence

What You Can Do

Maintenance, Conservation, and Repair

Cemetery Contact

Contact Us

If you have questions about the Cemetery Preservation Program, please contact the program administrator using the information listed here.

Phone:
+1 512-475-4506
Email:
cemeterypreservation@thc.texas.gov
Address:

P.O. Box 12276
Austin, TX 78711
United States