Colored Graveyard in the Old Town of Hearne
N 30° 52.278 W 096° 35.581
14R E 730125 N 3417820
A cringe-worthy name for a cringe-worthy story of this unique former slave cemetery remnant in a road median in Hearne TX
Waymark Code: WMVAVA
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/25/2017
Views: 9
This state historic marker in a median of Wheelock Street in Hearne marks the grave of Hollie Tatnall, whose children were the only people to refuse to disinter and move their mother when, in 1947, developers demanded the old "colored" cemetery be cleared for new development.
Good on them!
The grave is located on Wheelock Street between Cypress and Willow streets in a leafy neighborhood in Hearne.
Marker Number: 14329
Marker Text:
This cemetery, now represented by a single grave, was a burial site for African Americans residents of the area. According to folklore, it originated as a farm or slave cemetery. The earliest known burial here dated in 1879, and residents used the graveyard until 1912. In 1947, developers purchased this property; descendants of the interred were forced to move and rebury relatives. However, the children of Hollie Tatnell (d. 1911), a former slave, refused to reinter their mother, forcing developers to build around her grave. Today, this single grave serves as a reminder of the area’s early African-American community and of the sanctity of burial grounds.
Historic Texas Cemetery -- 2007
Marker is property of the State of Texas
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