Historic Cemetery

Payne Cemetery

Eustace, Texas 75124
Location: Take Hwy 175 west out of Athens towards Eustace. Turn left on FM 2329 and go 5-6 miles. Cemetery is located just at the intersection of FM 2929 and FM 3054. Cemetery is on right side of FM 2329 at the intersection.
Graves: 856 (1874 to present)
Size: 400' by 300'

Source: Cemetery Records of Henderson County, Texas; Parsons, Kim, Ref. to Texas Cemeteries, 1988; usgennet; Rootsweb; TxDot map 1990; 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.