Location: Baker Cemetery—N of Plantersville. Recorded: GRIM11, GRIM12: . Parsons.. Tombstone, TxDoT map. SEE Grimes County Cemeteries, vols 1-5, John Maxwell, GCHS. H&P, Grimes Co Hist.: Local hist. map, “Cem. located a few miles N of Plantersville, E of FM 1774. Established on the property of Isaac Baker who brought his family to Texas in 1842 and built ‘The Cedars.” p. 82-3, “…earlier settlers were planters from Austin’s colonies [see Plantersville Cem.] … Baker family entered their dead in a private cemetery on the Cedars Plantation. … area Masonic Lodge, 1853 … and Planters Lodge, early school. Cedars is now part of Butler Ranch.” p. 724-5, “Approx. 25 burials, some marked with boulders, earliest about the 1850s. Index.”THC site visit MB 9/28/04 w/ J. Maxwell. Near Plantersville, Tx area. Off FM 1774 at The Cedars Ranch, previously owned by the Butler family who also has a cemetery on this very large property. From the main gate on the private wooded road go 0.8 miles to the cattle guard, then another 0.6 miles to the site of cemeteries and the original homeplace. Baker is to the N. Pasture Road leads from the bend in the private road. Horse pasture. Do not cut across before the bend, request of the landowner. Small wooden archway to Baker Cemetery, very formal markers, large and small, very tall obelisks, spires, and dramatic statues. There are also some large fieldstone markers among the elaborate family markers, suggesting perhaps slave or other burials. Large Cedar marker trees, some Irises, some Crape Myrtles. No floral materials. DAR marker. Approx 0.20 acre. Low risk endangerment, fenced, repairs to markers, maintained by the current landowner, on map.
The Baker Family Plantation Cemetery in Grimes County, Texas, is a historically significant site in the United States. The cemetery dates back to the mid-1800s and was used by the Baker family, who were early settlers in the area and owned a plantation nearby.
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 Baker family owned 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 Baker Family 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.
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.