Historic Cemetery

Gibson Cemetery

Mansfield Area, Texas
Location: Driving Directions:From FM 1187 (Rendon Bloodworth Rd.), go 1.0 mile north on Bennett Lawson Rd. At Gibson Cemetery Road, go 0.5 miles east. At Gibson Cemetery Court, go 0.1 miles south.This cemetery is partially fenced, has a historical marker, and is maintained. However, it is not a map feature and many of the older headstones have been damaged (vandalism?), displaced, or stolen. There are many unmarked graves and graves marked with fieldstones.

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.

gravesites