Historical Marker
Washington Cemetery
Historical marker location:
1717 County Road 210, Giddings, Texas
( From Giddings, Take Hwy. 77 South, turn right on FM 448, turn right on FM 2239, turn left on County Road 209, turn left on County Road 210, travel 2 miles. The cemetery right of way is on the left as denoted by a street sign. Enter a gate (which must be kept closed) and travel about .4 mile through a pasture to the cemetery entrance.)
Marker installed: 2015
The land for Washington Cemetery and Bethany Colored Church was donated to former slave Charlie Washington by Henry Wenke Sr. after the Civil War. In addition to a Methodist Church and a Baptist Church, the cemetery and adjoining land was used by the growing Center Union Community. This community grew from former slaves seeking to purchase farmland. The earliest known burial was in 1882, while the last person was buried here in 1954. Much of the cemetery and many headstones were damaged by a nearby landowner’s development in 1975. More recently, through the Washington Cemetery project this sacred ground has been preserved and protected.