AUSTIN (KXAN) — The oldest known Black cemetery in Austin is on its way to landmark status.
Nonprofit Preservation Austin announced Thursday that the Historic Landmark Commission recommended designating Bethany Cemetery as a city of Austin landmark.
The cemetery is off Springdale Road just north of East 12th Street. The nonprofit said it was established in 1893 after five Black businessmen founded the Bethany Cemetery Company and bought the land. It came at a time when there was no municipal cemetery available to Black residents.
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The gravestones represent “stories of enslavement and emancipation, Buffalo Soldiers, State of Texas employees, religious leaders, domestic workers, entrepreneurs, and athletes,” Preservation Austin said.
Preservation Austin said it’s partnering with Bethany Cemetery Association President Sue Spears to bring forward this nomination…