HOUSTON – Olivewood Cemetery, Houston’s first incorporated African American burial ground, has been awarded a major preservation grant by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The $200,000 grant will support the site’s long-term “governance, maintenance, and community engagement efforts,” offering a lifeline to a cemetery that has long battled neglect, overgrowth, and the pressures of urban development.
Established in 1875, just a decade after enslaved Texans learned of their freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation, Olivewood Cemetery is a symbol of post-emancipation Black history in Houston.
The site is the final resting place of veterans from the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, a Buffalo Soldier, doctors, attorneys, and countless other community leaders, according to a board member.
But for decades, its survival was uncertain.
“In the 1950s or ’60s, something went wrong,” said Paul Jennings, board member of Descendants of Olivewood, the nonprofit that now oversees the cemetery. “The cemetery association collapsed. We don’t even know what happened. It just kind of disappeared.”
The recent grant is part of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund $3 million initiative to preserve 24 sites nationwide.
“We’re going to get people to come down and consult us, help us build a sustainable financial structure, create maintenance plans, outreach strategies, and set ourselves up for long-term preservation,” Jennings said. “Hopefully, we evolve into something that can preserve the cemetery for generations to come.”
For Margott Williams, a fellow board member and descendant of those buried at Olivewood, the news was emotional.
“Oh man, if I could have done a cartwheel without ending up in the emergency room, I would have,” she joked. “This grant helps us grow, find more descendants, and tell the story of the beautiful people that are buried here.”
Among those buried at Olivewood are Williams’ grandfather, great-grandparents, and multiple relatives. For her and others, preservation is personal.
“This gives me a chance to walk in the paths of my ancestors,” she said. “We celebrate the people who are buried here. For all of the things that they’ve done, we stand on their shoulders.”
For decades, Olivewood suffered abandonment, environmental threats, and urban encroachment. Williams recalls how her grandmother and mother once tried to visit but couldn’t find the cemetery because it was hidden by brush.
“No one knew who owned the cemetery,” she said. “It was just forgotten.”
That changed in 2003, when Williams and other descendants formed Descendants of Olivewood, Inc., determined to protect the cemetery from further decay and development.
But the threats continue.
“This area’s being landlocked,” Williams warned. “Development is closing in. And between environmental issues and construction, if we’re not careful, we could be overtaken again.”
Despite the uphill battle, the community’s commitment has never wavered.
“It’s a labor of love, blood, sweat, and tears,” Williams said. “But the people who are buried here, they deserve that.”
The Olivewood grant is part of a larger $3 million initiative by the Action Fund to support 24 Black historic sites nationwide, ranging from Harlem’s Apollo Theater to Oregon’s Black homestead communities.
The grant program reflects a growing national movement to empower communities to preserve their own stories, stories of resilience, achievement, and contribution.