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In Texas, any land with a human burial is considered a cemetery and is therefore legally protected from redevelopment or destruction. However, even with this legal protection, many cemeteries remain at risk of destruction at the hands of other threats. Historic African American cemeteries are often endangered in this way. Even though we often think of cemeteries as static and unchanging, they require a great deal of maintenance and upkeep, even when they are already in stable condition. Vegetation, soil erosion, and extreme weather events all threaten historic cemeteries. Like many other historic burial sites, Canaan Cemetery is at risk from these destructive forces.
Cemeteries that fall within city limits are legally required to be maintained by city governments, if no other legal entity retains ownership. However, freedom colonies that were never incorporated often lie outside city limits, thereby removing this level of protection from their historic cemeteries. Historically, care of a settlement’s cemetery would have fallen to the church congregation. The shrinking population of Texan freedom colonies over the decades, and the widespread
Cement burial at Canaan Cemetery (information indecipherable).
diaspora today, means that rural settlements often do not have the labor resources necessary to care for large burial grounds. The dense vegetation at Canaan Cemetery today is the result of this demographic pattern. While a few dedicated descendants in the area regularly care for family plots, and maintain what they can in addition to these plots, the overwhelming six acres of overgrowth necessitate a larger workforce.
Since 2021, the Canaan Cemetery Cleanup Project, led by Raschelle Black with the Daughters of the American Revolution, has organized bi-monthly volunteer cleanup events and have made significant headway in clearing the vegetation from the cemetery. Once the vegetation is removed, however, the cemetery will continue to require maintenance and ongoing preservation efforts.
Half-buried headstone for J. Marshall Phillips (Canaan Cemetery)
Recent research has shown that African American cemeteries are more likely to be in zones more exposed to floods, chemical runoff, and damaging and prohibitive construction. One of the first, and most important, steps for historic cemetery preservation is community involvement and stewardship. Just as it took a community to care for and maintain cemeteries in the past, it often now takes a community to safeguard and preserve historic cemeteries for the next generation.
How can I help care for these historic cemeteries?
How can I help care for these historic cemeteries?
Though it may seem counterintuitive, one of the best things for a historic cemetery may be to leave it alone until a maintenance strategy is put in place. Historic headstones and other materials require specialized care, and can easily be damaged by normal maintenance practices. It is also important not to remove or relocate any items that may be serving as grave goods, like the artifacts you see here today. If you know of a historic cemetery that appears to require urgent maintenance or intervention, one of the most important first steps is consulting with a professional individual or organization that specializes in historic preservation. A good place to start is your county historical commission, which will likely know if there is an entity responsible for the care of the cemetery. If the cemetery does have a caretaking organization, they might welcome assistance in the form of volunteer labor or donations.
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