College Park Cemetery, Houston, Texas.
Sometimes it only takes a few hours to discover something interesting in your own backyard. For years I passed the overgrown and neglected parcel of land on the eastern border of River Oaks on West Dallas—always told that it was an ancient slave cemetery. I guess it is poignant that I visited the site a couple days ago, being as it is Black History Month. And I was particularly intrigued by the restoration and the folk art—all of the stumps are brightly painted at College Park Cemetery.
College Park Cemetery is one of the three remaining African-American cemeteries from the era of segregation in Houston. Founded in 1896, it is believed that some of the burials might even predate its establishment because of its proximity to Freedmen’s Town.
College Park Cemetery, Houston, Texas.
There are over 4,000 burials on the 5 acre memorial park. But time has been unkind to this historic grave yard. Despite sporadic cleanups the cemetery remained in a state of weeds, debris, and vandalized markers.
A recent attempt to deconsecrate and sell portions of the cemetery caused an uproar and galvanized community support for the site. Preservationists and descendants of the deceased spread the word and raised money for restoration. College Park Cemetery became a State of Texas Historical Cemetery in 2002.
Yates Family Memorial, College Park Cemetery, Houston, Texas.
There are several historical placards and notable burial sites. One is John Henry “Jack” Yates. His name is recognizable today because of the HISD high school named in his honor. He was born a slave in Virginia in 1828 and after emancipation moved to Houston. He was an influential community leader who founded the Antioch Baptist Church and the Bethel Baptist Church (Antioch Baptist Church, 1868, was Houston’s first African-American Baptist church) and helped to create Emancipation Park and Houston Academy. The Jack Yates House, originally in Fourth Ward, is now on display downtown at Sam Houston Park.
College Park Cemetery, Houston, Texas.
Fascinated by the painted stumps, I asked College Park Cemetery’s Randy Riepe about them. Mr. Riepe said, “The stumps were created from the hundreds of dead trees we cut down over the past few years. We kept the stumps tall so they are easily avoided by the mowers and because it is so expensive to use a stump grinder.”
The artwork was done by students from Houston Community College and Houston Baptist University (College Park was actually the Baptist cemetery for Freedmen’s Town residents) to raise awareness for the cemetery. “The kids did a great job of putting a religious slant on their artwork,” Mr. Riepe continued. “And as a bonus a painted stump decays faster!”
College Park Cemetery, Houston, Texas.
Volunteers organized the College Park Cemetery Association, 501c3, to restore and preserve this historical property. Donations can be made through the website.
Link to College Park Cemetery