Historic Cemetery

Sand Flat Cemetery

a.k.a. Pioneer Family Sand Flat Cemetery

Athens, Texas
Location: Black cemetery located 7 miles NW of Athens in the Sand Flat Community. From Athens, go north on Hwy 19 3.6 miles. Turn left on blacktop road and go west 2.6 miles. Cemetery is on left side of road with entry sign.
Graves: 215 (1884 to present)
Size: 223 ft x 352 ft x 232 ft x 353 ft

Source: Cemetery Records of Henderson County, Texas v3; Parsons, Kim, Ref. to Texas Cemeteries, 1988; theyspeak.com; 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.