Location: Houston-Lea Family Cemetery:Houston-Lea Cem., Independence--THC Atlas: “When the widow of Sam Houston died of yellow fever during the epidemic of 1867, the danger of contagion made it impossible to carry her to Huntsville for burial beside her husband. She lies here, with her mother, Mrs. Nancy Lea, near the sites of their last homes and the old church they both loved. LOCATION: At the intersection of FM 50 and FM 390, NE corner, Independence.”Houston-Lea Cemetery, THC marker listing.AKA Lea Family Cemetery—TxGenWeb: “Independence.” --Recorded WASH01—Parsons. Cemetery Records of Washington Co (1974): “Lea Cem, 301910 – 962047 – Lea Family Cem in Independence, across from Independence Baptist Ch. Index.” THC site visit 9-15-0: Independence, Tx. THC Marker as Houston-Lee Family Cemetery. AKA Lea Family Cem.AKA Houston-Moffett-Lea Cem. Directly on street, FM 50 just N of intersection with FM 390, on E side of street. Adjacent to commercial and residential. Large mausoleum, fenced grave area, large mowed area to E of marked burials. Formal markers, obelisks. Area of mausoleum and fenced graves is approx 0.03 acre. Approx 0.92 acre mowed area. GPS 30.19.10.64158N –96.20.45.04637WUSGS 3096-131. Moderate risk, so near to roadway, but THC marker, associated museum, maintained, fenced, on map, visible.
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.