Yoakum’s historical Black cemetery approved for clean up project

  • Grave stones peak above the vegetation at the Yoakum Colored Cemetery at the Intersection of Dunn and Jackson Streets in Yoakum. Photos by Hans Lammeman
    Grave stones peak above the vegetation at the Yoakum Colored Cemetery at the Intersection of Dunn and Jackson Streets in Yoakum. Photos by Hans Lammeman
  • YMA leaders expect a fence to be built around the perimeter of the Yoakum Colored Cemetery by January of next year. Photos by Hans Lammeman
    YMA leaders expect a fence to be built around the perimeter of the Yoakum Colored Cemetery by January of next year. Photos by Hans Lammeman
  • The Yoakum Colored Cemetery is said to contain veterans from the Spanish American War, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, World War I and World War II. Photos by Hans Lammeman
    The Yoakum Colored Cemetery is said to contain veterans from the Spanish American War, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, World War I and World War II. Photos by Hans Lammeman

    The Yoakum Colored Cemetery is the resting place of several generations of the region’s most influential African American citizens. However, years of overgrowth and debris from the adjacent municipal waste facility have rendered the land unrecognizable as a site of such historical significance. 

     

    Vanita Cheeves and the Yoakum Memorial Association (YMA) aim to clear the two-acre property and pay due respect to those buried beneath the tangled vegetation. The project received a jumpstart of momentum with approval from the Yoakum Economic Development Corporation for up to $5,000 through a 50% matching grant last week.

     

    “It is important to me because it is history; it is local African American history,” said Cheeves. “I don't know if I have relatives down there. My grandmother, Mrs. Tina Lewis, was the one who told me about it when I was in college and growing up. To find out that a Black cemetery is located in the city dump is disrespectful.”

     

    The Yoakum Colored Cemetery, also known as the Big Brush Cemetery after a creek that once ran through the area, was dedicated to the colored people of DeWitt County in deeds dating back to 1893. Cheeves said the property has no owner and has been classified as a vacant lot by the DeWitt County Appraisal District since 1982. 

     

    “It is basically encapsulated by the Yoakum city waste facility, but it is not owned and nobody pays taxes on it…” Cheeves said. “The Blacks down there probably helped raise some of the Whites and Hispanics in this town. There could (potentially) also be whites and Hispanics buried down there.”

     

    In July 2015, a summer project for children through a Mormon church thoroughly cleaned the property. When the church left, the required maintenance became too much for Cheeves, and the condition worsened. 

     

    The YMA is looking to raise funds to match the YEDC’s $5,000 grant allotment to begin the transformative project and provide consistent maintenance afterward. Cheeves said she aspires to build a fence around the property to prevent debris from entering the cemetery and clear dense vegetation buildup. Additionally, she hoped to get the site recognized by a historical marker through the Texas Historical Commission. 

     

    “(The YMA) will promote Cemetery Day, where we can have families come out and help clean up the cemetery. On Veterans Day, we will have programs where they can come out and help clean up the cemetery and put the flags on the graves of our veterans,” said Cheeves. “The association has future plans.”

     

    The YMA president estimated that contractors would erect the fence by mid-January 2023. Those interested in helping with the project or learning more information can contact the organizations by calling (361) 407-2521 or emailing Info@YoakumMemorialAssociation.org.