Historic Cemetery

Martin Cemetery

Llano, Texas 78643
Location: South from Llano on Hwy 16 into Gillespie County. Left (east) on Willow City Loop 4.9 miles to Willow City-Click Road (K&L Ranch). Left on Willow City-Click Road to iron gate on left side of road (1911). 1.2 miles on private dirt road behind gate (Kelly Leifese property) to stone “fort”. Cemetery is 100 yards SE of fort in clump of trees in cattle pasture.Site is overgrown and most of the graves are not visible. Kelly Leifese currently owns the property and fenced the site within the original stone fence to keep the cattle out. Mr. Leifese said that some years back one of the stones for the site was found in a field some distance from the cemetery when the land was plowed. The stone was returned to the cemetery.

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.

gravesites