Historic Cemetery

Hammond Cemetery

Hammond Cemetery Rd, Texas 75939
Location: Hammond Cemetery Polk Co Tx Cem/website: no descript. Near Barnum, Tx. About 20 graves. Index, earliest 1866.”CSA[Near Barnum, post office zip code is 75939]THC site visit MB 8-05-05 w/ C. Pritchard: US 59 E on SH 287 for 10.1 miles to Barnum Rd, N or left for 1.0 mile to Y at sign, driveway to house, cemetery lane veers to left for approx 0.2 mile. Wooded area, hillside. Arched entryway, sign. Large fenced site with pavillion and maintained privy. Formal markers, obelisks and limestone, two carved fieldstones, a few other fieldstones, and commercial markers. Concrete benches in pavillion GPS PENDINGLow risk endangerment, remote and not on map but fenced, maintained, in use, near residence, signs on roads and at site.

Source: RIP Fields Table

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.