Emmie Seele Faust Memorial Library Building
New Braunfels, TX (Comal County)

Join the Comal County Historical Commission for a workshop featuring staff of the Texas Historical Commission’s (THC) Cemetery Preservation Program. THC staff will conduct a workshop on how to officially record abandoned cemeteries and develop strategies to protect these threatened burial grounds. The free workshop is open to the public and will be held Monday, October 9, 9–11:30 a.m. Breakfast will be provided, courtesy of the Comal County Historical Commission. Please email htc@thc.texas.gov or call 512-463-6044 to reserve your space.
BACKGROUND: Cemeteries are important keys to Texas’ past. They are reminders of settlement patterns and reveal information about historic events, religion, lifestyles, and genealogy. Unfortunately, historic cemeteries are increasingly threatened by development pressures, encroachment, vandalism, and theft. Since 2009, Texas law has required any person who discovers an unknown or abandoned cemetery to file notice of the discovery with the county clerk. This workshop will instruct participants about how to fulfill this requirement and how to take additional steps to protect a threatened cemetery.