Location: Courtney Cemetery, white—Courtney CommunityAKA Courtney Cedar Hill Cemetery—Recorded GRIM11, GRIM12—Parsons. See Also Courtney Cem. for Blacks. H&P, Grimes Co Hist.: p. 63, named for J. E. Groce’s daughter-in-law. Groce family slave holders, large agriculture beginning in 1820s.” p. 729, “Local hist. map, On hill dotted w/ large cedar trees … located 1.5 miles off Hwy 6, approx. 2 blocks from FM 2. Land donated to community by Dugald McAlpine., settler from about 1851, died 1876. No records kept of people buried in cemetery until about 1980. Oldest identifiable grave about 1873. The south end of cem. is full of graves … but deterioration of stones, wooden crosses & iron fences that had surrounded family plots. Only a few spaces are left in cem in NE corner, kept by descendants. Listing of family names. Civil War memorial. 3rd Sunday in May is homecoming at this shady serene cemetery. Approx. 150-200 graves, earliest approx. 1880s.[??]” SEE Cemeteries of Grimes County, vols 1-5 John Maxwell, GCHC. THC Atlas“Located on land which is adjacent to the 1873 subdivision of Courtney known as McAlpine Town, this cemetery was established by developer Dugald McAlpine (1795-1876). The oldest documented grave in the cemetery is that of W. S. Draper (1828-1873). There are some unmarked graves which may date from an earlier period. Those interred here include community leaders, descendants of early settlers, and veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Korea. A cemetery association, formed in 1971, cares for the historic graveyard. --Texas AtlasDirections: from Navasota take SH 6 S approximately 9 miles to FM 2; then W on FM 2 approximately 1.2 miles to CR 327; then W on CR 327 approximately .3 miles.”Tombstone/Rootsweb /TxGenWeb, TxDoT map. THC site visit 4/19/04, just N of Courtney, Tx CR 327 at 4th St.,lane to cemetery. Large formal site, formal and informal markers, diversity over time. Abundant floral and decorative grave materials. Some areas appear to be sections different than others. Heavily treed, many Cedar marker trees, also Magnolia, Crape Myrtle, Live Oak. Irises, Roses, Lillies. Some photo enamels. US Veterans, DAR, CSA, Texas Pioneer markers. Fenced, hilltop location. Adjacent to but sepeartely fenced with no connecting gate to Courtney Cem, black. Small town residential, wooded and pasture areas.About 800 ft. from roadway. Approx 2.13 acres. GPS 30.16.19.95613N –96.0352.11191W. Quad 3096-141 Low endangerment: maintained, fenced, near residences, recent burials.
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.