If area residents are wanting to learn more about local history, one place they may not consider is their local cemetery. Oakwood Cemetery, located on 9th Street in Huntsville, is home to many famous historical figures that have made the community what it is today. These include General Sam Houston, George Robinson (who founded The Huntsville Item), SHSU presidents, and prominent attorneys. Guides for walking tours are available at the cemetery entrance which provide more information on some of the historical figures buried at the cemetery.
Former Mayor of Huntsville Mac Woodward, who is also the former Director of Sam Houston Memorial Museum, provided in-depth information about the history of Oakwood Cemetery and why residents of Huntsville should visit and tour the cemetery.
Pleasant Gray, the man that founded Huntsville, donated this land to establish a city cemetery in 1847, and then it expanded to other sections. Standing near Sam Houston’s grave, we’re standing in the earliest part of the cemetery. The cemetery extended later all the way to Martin Luther King Drive in the late 1880s, which is known as the New Oakwood Cemetery. Then the Addickes Addition was added in the 1920s. This was where Sam Houston’s Steamboat House was originally located. You see a lot of graves in the original section that show a death date of 1867–that was a yellow fever epidemic in Huntsville, so you have a lot of people that died from that that are buried in the older section. There’s a number of historic figures. There’s a lot of prominent families, the Abercrombie family, the Thomas Ball family, and some veterans of the Texas Revolution and the Civil War that are buried here. This is a historic Texas cemetery which was awarded by the Texas Historical Commission because of its age and because of its significance. This is really one of the important cemeteries in Texas.
Interestingly, Pleasant Gray himself is not buried at Oakwood. He caught “gold fever” and died in Nebraska on the trail to California. Also mentioned above: Leonard Anderson Abercrombie was Commissioner of the Texas penitentiary. As a senator of the twenty-first state legislature he used his influence to establish the Sam Houston Normal Institute. Rev. Thomas Ball was early president of Austin College. His son, Tom Ball, was mayor of Huntsville and a congressman who fought to establish the Houston Ship Channel. The city of Tomball was named in his honor.
Sam Houston died July 26th, 1863, and this is where he was buried. Originally, it was a little simple marker. In April of 1911, which was the 75th anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto, a sculptor created this monument. When this was dedicated, there was probably several thousand people here to dedicate the marker. Sam Houston’s family descendants were also here to dedicate the new monument. Every year on April 21st, they have a ceremony here to celebrate his birthday, which is called A March to the Grave. His slave Joshua Houston’s son, Samuel Walker Houston, is also buried here. He started the real effort for black education in Huntsville-Walker County.
This is the history of the people of Huntsville. In Walker County, this is a way people can come and learn about the different people that were part of this community. Some residents may not have grown up in Huntsville or they have moved here recently, but they’re part of the community, so it’s a part of their community, too. If you walk through here, you can follow the history of Huntsville. Cemeteries are very special to people and very interesting, because this is where their relatives or their ancestors are buried, so there’s almost a connection. I think it’s sacred in a way or spiritual that you have a feeling being here. Look how peaceful and quiet. I think there’s a good quality about it. Many people stop and go through this cemetery out of fascination.
There are some unmarked graves. The geography department with Sam Houston State University used a ground penetrating radar to try to locate grave sites. Before the site was all grown up and when the area was cleared out, you could see the depressions in the ground where the grave sites were. They identified those graves were all African American graves, but we don’t know who they are. The prison donated crosses to use as the grave markers that are used now.
The Powell family was a family of prominent attorneys here in Huntsville that moved to Houston. While they were living here, their son had his tonsils taken out and hemorrhaged and died. His mother was so grieved that she got this monument, this statue, and donated this area in his memory. The original statue is in Copenhagen, Denmark, but I think this one is from Italy. I believe at the time, there was only four replicas in the United States. There are other members of the family buried here as well. All that behind the statue is a wilderness and you can’t do anything with the trees, so we can keep it as a wildlife area.
I also spoke with Penny Joiner, Director of Parks and Leisure to learn how the ground of the cemetery is taken care of.
The city took this over in about 2000 or 2002, and the city is under the Parks and Leisure Department. They have a small crew that helps maintain it. They have community service crews from the Walls Unit who will come out. TDCJ would help with us, once COVID hit it became a little bit of struggle. They do it when they can, depending on their situation. Without them, it’s difficult to maintain. Right now, we have a contracting company that helps us with the mowing and trimming. Our cemetery attendant assists with new cells and checking everything.
Let’s appreciate and take care of our local history! If interested in assisting with cemetery-related projects, contact 936-294-5708. For walking tour information, visit http://www.huntsvilletexas.com/.
Postcards Magazine
936-293-1188
PO Box 690
Huntsville, TX 77342
