Makeover / Renaissance Tour -This wonderful greenspace and rich cultural treasure has been right under our noses and ignored for far too long.
176 years old, one of the oldest cemeteries in Dallas County
Made possible by the Constellation of Living Memorials:
A 2-year, $5,000 matching grant from the Texas Historical Foundation to add butterfly and native plants is currently beautifying the cemetery.
A $30,000 grant from the Summerlee Foundation has professionally cleaned all the headstones, Landmark Status is being filed to protect the land from developers, and broken stones are soon to be repaired.
STATS----------------
2 acres
706 burials
307 markers
first burial 1848
oldest stone 1861
earliest known birthdate 1809
oldest known lifespan 102
SOLDIERS ----------------
16 known veterans,
12 from the Civil War,
Including at least 5 Union soldiers
IMMIGRANTS----------------
*At least 2 La Reunion colonists
* People from Germany (7), France, Switzerland, Hungary, England, and "Sanwan" (!) California. (Who would have thought there was migration FROM California TO Dallas in 1860??)
Three headstones are partially written in German.
OTHER NOTABLES----------------
* man whom Coombs Creek was named after
* guy that laid the 12,000 lb. cornerstone during the building the State Capitol in Austin on the 49th birthday of Texas Independence
* woman whose 2-storey house saved 30 or more people during the great 1908 flood
* 21 year old bride murdered by her husband
* woman married 25 years who had 21 kids
TOUR----------------
The free one hour in person tour covers local history, Civil War markers, native plants, soil type, family wealth, infant mortality rates, socioeconomic status of women in the 1800s, symbolism in gravestone art and poetry, etc.
PROGRESS----------------
In just the short 12 months that the literally world-famous Western Heights Cemetery has been one of the 5 pilot cemeteries in the Constellation of Living Memorials, we have accomplished the following:
* Identified stakeholders (see attached), and drafted governing documents
* Headstones mapped with database and GPS locations by Texas Cemetery Restorations
* Topographic survey completed
* All trees mapped
* Grave research and database reconciliation and merge by research volunteers
* Cemetery-wide Veterans Day observance reinstituted
* Many descendants identified, located, contacted, and involved
* First annual Descendants Day homecoming event held with attendees coming from as far away as Houston
* All headstones professionally cleaned
* Physical condition of all stones logged
* Five Facebook accounts created for the cemetery (History, Nature, Arts, Volunteers, and Visitor Information) and one for the surrounding neighborhood itself
* Landmark status filing preparation begins to protect cemetery from developers
* Cemetery-wide Memorial Day observance reinstituted
* Created an extensive walking trail system over the two acres
* Purchased and installed benches (our start thanks to a tourist from Alaska with mobility issues who upon her return home sent us a $120 donation and urged that it be used to buy a bench so those with mobility issues can rest during their walk)
* Employed two local (literally across the street) residents part-time at $20/$25 an hour to assist with landscape maintenance to increase community involvement
* Multiple birdhouses & birdfeeders added
* Living Biographies first performed
* First annual Volunteer of the Year Award presented
* Memorial Plaza dedicated
* Project begun to repair all stones
* Numerous free one hour tours given
PLANS
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In addition to the installation of butterfly gardens, our near-term plans include:
* Additional history storytelling performances
* Theatre
* Non-amplified choral music
* Poetry walks
* Adding Spanish language tours
* Adding monthly American Sign Language tours for the hearing impared
* Adding monthly tours for the vision impaired
* Adding a bike rack
* Public art (mural for the retaining wall along Fort Worth Avenue)
PATRONAGE
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Western Heights Cemetery is administered and managed by the non-profit Fort Worth Avenue Development Group with the generous support of the local community.
DONATIONS
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Your donations preserve, protect, and maintain this 176 year old historic cemetery.
https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaign_id=66EJ25E4WG8FQ
Thank you for your interest!
Van Johnson
Volunteer Coordinator
Western Heights Cemetery