Historic Cemetery

Cartwright-McCrary Cemetery

a.k.a. Cartwright Plantation, McCrary Plantation

Richmond, Texas
Location: From Rosenberg north on FM 723 to FM 1093. FM 1093 2.1 miles NE to Canal Road. South 1.3 miles to gate at 22525 Canal Rd. Need permission to enter. Drive .5 mi SE of the house but on a grass road that zig zags behind the house. This site has over 11 unmarked graves with depressions. There may be more graves in the woods surrounding the site but it is unknown. This is thought to be a slave cemetery that was active until the 1950s. The site has been cleaned by Bruce Harrison, but it has been overgrown in the past. There are currenlty 4 marked graves, only three have inscriptions. There is one fenced grave that does not have a marker.

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