Olivewood Cemetery

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Headstones at Olivewood
Headstones at Olivewood

Olivewood Cemetery, in Houston, Texas, lies near a bend in White Oak Bayou, along the rail line to Chaney Junction, where the First and Sixth wards meet just northwest of downtown. The six-acre cemetery is an historic resting place for many freed slaves and some of Houston’s earliest black residents.

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[edit] History

In 1875, the land, which had previously been used for slave burials, was purchased by Richard Brock, Houston's first black alderman. It opened as a cemetery for black Methodists in 1877.[1] When Olivewood was platted, it was the first African-Americans burial ground within the Houston city limits.[2]

Many 19th century influential African-Americans were buried in the cemetery, including Reverend Elias Dibble, first minister of Trinity United Methodist Church; Reverend Wade H. Logan, also a minister of the church; and James Kyle, a blacksmith; as well as Richard Brock.[3]

The cemetery includes more than 700 family plots around a graceful, elliptical drive that originated at an ornate entry gate. It contains graves of both the well-to-do and those who died in poverty; therefore, the grave markers run the gamut from elaborate Victorian monuments to simple, handmade headstones. Burials at Olivewood Cemetery continued through the 1960s.[4]

Olivewood Cemetery sign
Olivewood Cemetery sign

In 2003, after decades of neglect and abandonment, the "Decedents of Olivewood," a nonprofit organization, was established to take guardianship of the cemetery, "to provide care and to protect its historical significance."[2] The group has also been working to have Olivewood designated an Historic Texas Cemetery.

[edit] Hauntings

Over the years, there have been numerous reports of mysterious after-dark sightings and strange movements within the graveyard.[2]

Cathi Bunn, a paranormal investigator, began exploring Olivewood in 1999. One moonlit midnight, Bunn said she videotaped the ghost of Mary White, who was buried in 1888, hovering above her headstone.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Aulbach, L.F. Ghosts of Houston's Past Haunt the Cemeteries on Buffalo Bayou. Buffalo Bayou - An Echo of Houston's Wilderness Beginnings (2001). Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
  2. ^ a b c Perry, J. Grave undertaking: efforts to preserve earliest black cemetery. Houston Heritage, City Savvy (Online Ed. 2005). Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
  3. ^ Black Cemetery Preservation/Tombstone Transcription. Projects, Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. (AAHGS - H-Town, 2003-2004). Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
  4. ^ Preservation Update. Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
  5. ^ Historic and Haunted Olivewood Cemetery. Cemeteries, The Ghastly Ghost Hunter. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.

[edit] External links