Historic Cemetery

Pettus Anglo Cemetery

a.k.a. Cook-Barnett

Pettus, Texas
Location: In Pettus on Hwy 181, go east on FM 623 .1 mile to South Milam Street go .2 miles (road turns to gravel at .1 mile) to driveway of Tracey and George Ray. Follow gravel driveway east to house. Cemetery is located just SE of house. Continue past house to barbed wire fence. Follow fenceline south about 50 yards to cemetery on east side of fence.This cemetery was so overgrown at the time of visit that most of the graves were not visible. Mr. McCarty and I had to use clippers just to make trails through the brush to get a look at the stones. Many of the stones are covered by brush or dirt, and many of the fences around plots have fallen. It was almost impossible to survey this cemetery or establish bounds for this site because it is so overgrown and the graves cover very large area. This site needs immediate attention and clean-up.

Source: RIP Fields Table

To address the problem of cemetery destruction and to record as many cemeteries as possible, the Texas Historical Commission offers the Historic Texas Cemetery designation.

The Historic Texas Cemetery designation was developed in 1998 to help protect historic cemeteries by recording cemetery boundaries in county deed records to alert present and future owners of land adjacent to the cemetery of its existence. Every county in Texas has at least one cemetery designated as a Historic Texas Cemetery through this program. The HTC designation is the first step toward preservation of a historic cemetery.

A cemetery is eligible for designation if it is at least 50 years old and is deemed worthy of recognition for its historical associations. The very nature of a cemetery being a landmark of a family’s or community’s presence is considered to validate the criteria of historical associations. Any individual, organization, or agency may submit a request for designation.

gravesites