A Publication of the Cemetery Preservation Program





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October 2025






Color photo of a cracked concrete headstone in a historic cemetery undergoing a repair using clamps and mortar

"Safely Anchored In The Harbor Of Eternal Rest" - Concrete headstone for John Keys undergoing repair at New York Cemetery, Henderson County

Grave Concerns in Texas, October 2025

A Publication of the Cemetery Preservation Program

"The Cemetery Preservation Program [ [link removed] ] of the THC supports cemetery preservation efforts in each of the 254 counties across the state. Cemetery Preservation Program staff provides consultation, educational materials, and training to concerned citizens and public officials. In addition, the program offers the Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) designation and maintains a statewide inventory of cemeteries to record and protect historic burial grounds. "

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Cemetery Preservation Workshop Recap
Color photo of group photo taken in front of the New York Cemetery historic archway in East Texas

This month, the Cemetery Preservation Program was live from New York...Texas! We had a blast hosting two headstone cleaning and repair workshops in Henderson County. First, we teamed up with our gracious hosts from the New York Baptist Church and adjacent historic New York Cemetery [ [link removed] ]. Then, we ended the week working on the peaceful grounds of Fincastle Cemetery [ [link removed] ] with a team of volunteers and descendants.

"Check out more photos of local cemetery preservation in action on the THC Blog page [ [link removed] ]. "

*READ MORE * [ [link removed] ]


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HTC Highlight: Terlingua Cemetery
Color photo of traditional Mexican headstones built of rock and wooden crosses in Terlingua, Texas

This month, we’re highlighting a fan favorite cemetery in one of Texas’ most photogenic ghost towns—Terlingua. Of the thousands of designated Historic Texas Cemeteries, the Terlingua Cemetery [ [link removed] ] is one that can truly claim celebrity status. Its fame is well known; just look at the body of West Texas travel blogs and you’ll find endless snapshots of the cemetery’s weathered wooden crosses and rock masonry tombs. The boom and bust story of Terlingua’s quicksilver mine and the pre-war company town turned ghost town has been well documented.

Color photo of rock mound traditional Mexican burials in Terlingua, Texas

Lesser known, however, are the stories of Terlingua’s Mexican mine workers and the traditional burial ground they built for their loved ones. Descendant organizations like Familias de Terlingua offer a digital space for the region’s legacy Hispanic families to stay connected and provide cemetery visitors with much-needed historical context. Thanks to them, we can continue to speak the names of families buried in Terlingua like Baeza, Molinar, Valenzuela, and Villalba. 

In 2021, the first comprehensive inventory and map was completed by local researcher Thomas C. Alex. Of the 529 burials and monuments inventoried, only 98 have been identified with a specific person.  

Terlingua’s celebrity attention has been bittersweet. Each year, cemetery visitors keep Terlingua’s historic Mexican heritage alive during Dia de los Muertos, while decades of foot traffic from the popular chili cookoffs and ghost town tourism have visibly damaged the one-of-a-kind rock mound graves and historic wood grave fencing. Terlingua locals and descendants believe a healthy balance of tourism and cemetery preservation can be achieved in order to prevent their beloved cemetery from being "loved to death." 







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Remembering Veterans
Rows of white military headstones at Fort Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso

Fort Bliss National Cemetery, El Paso

This Veterans Day, many will choose to mark the occasion by visiting a military service member’s gravesite at a local cemetery. At least 16,000 cemeteries dot the Texas landscape, and a large number of them are the final resting place for people who served in peacetime and wars ranging from the American Revolution to modern conflicts.

Six cemeteries in Texas [ [link removed] ] are national cemeteries maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) National Cemetery Administration (NCA). The first national cemeteries were developed at the start of the Civil War and grew into the National Cemetery System, which was largely operated by the Army until the National Cemeteries Act of 1973 transferred most national cemeteries to the VA. (Some battle-related national cemeteries are managed by the National Park Service.)

National cemeteries are considered "exceptionally significant as a result of their Congressional designation as nationally significant places of burial and commemoration," and are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. To date, four of the six Texas locations have been formally nominated and successfully listed. To learn more about their history, read the National Register nominations for Fort Bliss National Cemetery [ [link removed] ], Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery [ [link removed] ], Houston National Cemetery [ [link removed] ], and San Antonio National Cemetery [ [link removed] ].

Visit the NCA’s extensive website for valuable information on a variety of topics. Highlights include:


* Cleaning Government-Furnished Headstones and Markers [ [link removed] ]
* Historic Headstones and Markers (prior to World War I) [ [link removed] ]
* General History of National Cemeteries [ [link removed] ]

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Elgin Mexican Cemetery Receives National Recognition

Color photo of a traditional Mexican cross made of concrete and colorful blue and white tile at the Elgin Mexican Cemetery.

The Elgin Mexican Cemetery [ [link removed] ], one of our 2023 Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) designees, was recently nominated to the inaugural list of Endangered Latinx Landmarks [ [link removed] ], a program led by the nonprofit Latinos in Heritage Conservation that identifies and protects Latinx heritage sites across the U.S. that face immediate threats. The Elgin Mexican Cemetery joins 13 other sites on the list, including Barrio Chihuahuita in El Paso and El Corazon Sagrado de la Iglesia de Jesus, a historic adobe church in Ruidosa.

Established in 1915, the cemetery preserves one-of-a-kind handmade tile and brick markers crafted by Mexican laborers employed at Elgin’s Butler Brick company. The Endangered Latinx Landmark recognition will help local cemetery caretakers raise public awareness around common challenges, such as flooding and headstone repairs.



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Famous Graves: Freddy Fender

Dear Hollywood, if you’re in need of a new biopic, look no further than the story of San Benito native Baldemar Huerta, aka Freddy Fender (1937-2006).

It’s an underdog tale of the son of migrant farm workers who reached number one on the Billboard charts with a bilingual Texas sound at a time when Mexican Americans were seeking more opportunities for recognition in media and public life. Nearly two decades since his passing, Fender remains a famous figure in the world of rock, pop, country, and Tejano music. No where is his legacy felt more than in San Benito, home of the Freddy Fender water tower, the recently dedicated Freddy Fender historical marker [ [link removed] ]conveniently located on Freddy Fender Lane, and the massive Freddy Fender Memorial at the San Benito Memorial Park Cemetery.

Hollywood scouts can start their research at the six plaques that surround Fender’s memorial, telling his life story and achievements. In the center, a black granite headstone contains an etching of Fender performing on stage under an eternal spotlight, while the reverse side is engraved with an epitaph that reads: 



*"“Vaya con dios. From my humble beginnings to my humble end.” "*

Earlier this summer, the City of San Benito dedicated a memorial pergola at Fender’s gravesite, offering shade to family and fans visiting the famous grave of their hometown hero.

Color photograph of a crowd posing outside next to the headstone memorial for Mexican American country artist Freddy Fender
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Beware of Scary AI-Generated Summaries!

Graphic of granite headstone with an image of a Google AI Overview search result on the monument

Dear cemetery researchers, we’ve been hearing scary stories of an online monster that spins webs of falsehoods about historic Texas cemeteries in your search results and presents them as facts. Beware of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Overview feature! 

You may have noticed a paragraph appearing in the top spot of your internet search results presenting a quick snapshot of what different websites say about your research topic. This is a new feature that attempts to answer your research questions through summaries written by AI technology. We’ve heard more and more complaints from cemetery researchers about inaccurate and downright nonsensical AI summaries that present misleading information about a cemetery topic.

For example, the AI Overview might write a sentence incorrectly claiming that a historic cemetery you're researching is officially designated as a Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC), when in reality this non-HTC cemetery has only been described as "historic" in multiple website articles with names that contain the matching words "Texas Cemetery."

*Remember:* The THC Atlas [ [link removed] ] is your official resource for checking the designation of a cemetery.



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HTCs in the News

The Stories Behind Amarillo’s Oldest Cemetery [ [link removed] ]—Amarillo Country Radio (Llano Cemetery, Potter Co.)

African American Cemetery Association Seeks Leader [ [link removed] ]—Crossroads Today (Lockhart Cemetery, DeWitt Co.)

Century-Old Cemetery Labeled Endangered [ [link removed] ]—The Elgin Courier (Elgin Mexican Cemetery, Bastrop Co.)

Slave Cemetery Halts Federally-Funded Martindale Project [ [link removed] ]—KXAN Austin (Crayton-Spruill Cemetery, Caldwell Co.)

Endangered History, Living Legacy: Olivewood Cemetery Marks 150 Years in Houston [ [link removed] ]—Fox 2 News (Olivewood Cemetery, Harris Co.)

State Protects, Preserves Guadalupe County Cemetery's Legacy on Wilcox Ranch [ [link removed] ]—Seguin Gazette (Ridley Cemetery, Guadalupe Co.)

El Paso Youth Group Tackles Community Projects [ [link removed] ]—KFOX 14 (Smeltertown Cemetery, El Paso Co.)

Historic Burial Grounds Spark Tension in Grand Prairie Amid Development Concerns [ [link removed] ]—CBS New (Antioch Life Park Cemetery, Dallas Co.)

Lamar History Club Part of Historic Cemetery Preservation [ [link removed] ]—Beaumont Enterprise (Pear Orchard Cemetery, Jefferson Co.)

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Upcoming Marker Dedications

November 25: Blanchette Cemetery [ [link removed] ] (Jefferson Co.)

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