Providence Plantation Cemetery
The cemetery is significant for several reasons. First, it provides insight into the lives and deaths of early settlers in Texas, and serves as a reminder of the challenges and hardships they faced. Many of the graves in the cemetery belong to children and young adults, reflecting the high mortality rates of the time.
Second, the cemetery is a tangible link to the history of slavery in Texas. The Providence Plantation was worked by slaves, and several of them are buried in the cemetery. The graves of these slaves, many of whom are only identified by simple markers or fieldstones, provide a glimpse into their lives and the hardships they endured.
Finally, the Providence Plantation Cemetery is significant as a cultural and historical landmark in the state of Texas. It has been recognized by the Texas Historical Commission and added to the National Register of Historic Places, ensuring its preservation for future generations. The cemetery serves as a testament to the lives of those who lived and worked on the plantation, and the impact that they had on the history and development of Texas.
Source: Local history notes; TxGenWeb
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.