Historic Cemetery

Aanonsen Cemetery

Wills Point, Texas 75169
Location: In the Wise Community. Go west on Hwy 243 to Hwy 47. Go south 4.4 miles, turn left on Van Zandt Co. Road 2701. Go .09 miles. The cemetery is on the right. It is in a pasture across the road from the residences of Claud Reed and Owen Anderson; on property owned by Mr. Anderson’s brother.

Source: Van Zandt County Texas Cemeteries Book 1-4; USGS; TxDot map 1990

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.