Historic Cemetery

Rafael Pena Cemetery

Texas
Location: Driving Directions:From FM 1017 in La Reforma, go 2.2 miles south-west on Delmita Rd. (or from FM 2292, go 1.6 miles east on Delmita Rd). Cemetery is approx. 210 ft. south of road. This is a well maintained, active, fully fenced cemetery. It is located on private property behind a locked gate, and there are no cemetery signs posted. It appears to be visited frequently. Cemetery features include: locally cast concrete and hand wrought steel grave markers, concrete grave slabs, metal funeral markers, and hand-carved sandstone markers.

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