Historic Cemetery

King Cemetery

Gatesville, Texas
Location: From Gatesville take Hwy 84 west to junction with Hwy 116. Turn left (south) and follow 116 to junction with FM 1783, about 3 miles. Turn right (west) and follow FM 1783 about 3 miles. Turn right (west) and follow 1783 about 7 miles to cemetery on the right just past King Baptist Church.
Graves: 380 (1870s to present)

Source: Parsons, Kim, Ref. to Texas Cemeteries, 1988; Bobbie Ross website; Rootsweb; THC records; TxDot map 2000; They-Speak.com; 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.