Heritage, Volume 14, Number 2, Spring 1996 Page: 19
30 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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New Preservation Organization Formed
'Save Texas Cemeteries' Rescues Texas Grave SitesSave 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, multicultural
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.HERITAGE * SPRING 1996 19
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 14, Number 2, Spring 1996, periodical, Spring 1996; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45406/m1/19/?rotate=90: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.