Historic Cemetery

Gotcher Cemetery

Kempner, Texas 76539
Location: From Copperas Cove go west on FM 1113 following the curve of the Santa Fe Railway. Take the first road to the left and cross the tracks. Proceed to a dead end a little over 1 mile from the tracks. Take the road leading to the left, go about 1/5 of a mile. Cemetery is on a hill to the left short distance off the road.

Source: Parsons, Kim, Ref. to Texas Cemeteries, 1988; Bobbie Ross website; Rootsweb; They-Speak.com; TxGenWeb; USGS

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.