Nearly 27 years ago, we designated the very first Historic Texas Cemetery in Bexar County—McCulloch Cemetery, located on the southwest side of San Antonio. The cemetery derives its significance not from its distinction as the first HTC designation in the county, but for its association with Samuel McCulloch, Jr.

McCulloch arrived in Texas as a free Black man in spring 1835, alongside his white father, Samuel McCulloch, Sr. He volunteered to fight in the Texas Revolution and was wounded at the Battle of Goliad in October 1835. However, even though he continued service to the military under the new Republic of Texas, McCulloch’s status as a free man eligible for Texan citizenship was threatened. After a lengthy legal struggle, his family was finally permitted to remain in the new Republic. In 1852, McCulloch moved his family to land near Van Ormy that he received for his service in the Revolution and became a farmer and rancher. Several decades later, the State of Texas granted him additional land that had previously been denied to him because of his race. Read more about McCulloch’s fascinating life and contributions to Texas here.

The first known burials in the McCulloch Cemetery are those of McCulloch’s father who died in 1855, and his brother who died in 1859. The family burial ground eventually evolved into a cemetery for the surrounding community and is often called Mann’s Crossing Cemetery. Samuel McCulloch, Jr. was buried here upon his death in 1893. The emblem on his simple granite gravemarker (pictured above) identifies him as a Texas War Veteran. His story is memorialized on the Texas African American History Memorial at the Texas Capitol.

Want to designate a historic cemetery you care about? Visit our website to get more information, watch a how-to video, and download the application.

Wonder if the cemetery you care about is already designated? You can check the status on the Texas Historic Sites Atlas. 

This has allowed important space for users to add crucial local knowledge of individuals buried in the cemetery—which includes a grave locator map, photographs, obituaries, and familial ties to other burials. 

We're living in a digital age, of course, but its not every day that we see our historic cemeteries fully engage with descendant and volunteer communities online via websites and social media platforms. We hope you'll join us at the upcoming Real Places conference for our discussion on the Do's and Don'ts of Social Media for Historic Cemeteries.

If you grew up in the 1980s, you’re probably familiar with the Von Erich family from syndicated wrestling programs broadcast on boxy television sets. Millennial and younger generations will be more familiar with the Hollywood retelling of the tragic deaths of the five brothers that kept their names in the tabloids. The thrilling saga of the Dallas-based Von Erich wrestling dynasty is now famous across multiple generations thanks to new media like documentaries and podcasts. Four decades after the height of their fame, the family has benefitted from more sympathetic media coverage that makes room for their joy and triumphs rather than exploiting the tragedies.

Historical markers are a popular way to educate the public about a cemetery’s history and demonstrate your commitment to the site’s preservation. If you want to obtain one of the interpretive HTC markers, now is your chance! The once-per-year marker application window opens on March 1 and closes on May 15.

As a reminder, you can only submit a marker application for a cemetery that has already been designated as an HTC, which is a separate application process and is a pre-requisite for a historical marker. The good news is that we accept applications for the HTC designation all year long, so if you get started on one now, you’ll be ready for next year’s marker application cycle.

The March 1 to May 15 application window applies to interpretive markers only. We accept orders for the HTC Name and Date Plaques at any time of the year once the designation process is complete. All versions of the HTC marker incorporate the official HTC medallion, which includes a five-point Lone Star encircled by a rose and a cypress branch—both common cemetery plants and symbols.