Group Clean Up of Historic African American Grandview Cemetery, Bryan
Grandview Cemetery in Bryan, Texas, was meant to be the largest African American burial ground in Brazos County. More than 1,000 African Americans are buried there including freed slaves, black business owners and veterans of several wars. E.A. Kemp, longtime Bryan principal and the namesake of Kemp Elementary School, who died in 1929 has a gravesite near the front of the property.
Previously known as Hammond Cemetery, Bryan’s East Side Cemetery and the Castle Heights Cemetery, it is unclear exactly how far back the cemetery dates. Grandview Cemetery, as it is known today, was purchased by Dr. William A. Hammond in 1922. A physician who opened Bryan’s first black hospital, Hammond deeded the property to the Colored Cemetery Association on Feb. 9, 1922, for $1,250. However, in the early 1970s most of the original cemetery association members had died and, because of the lack of deeds or detailed records of who owned the property, the cemetery fell into disrepair and maintenance was left largely to the families of buried relatives. Unproductive discussions over the past 25 years as to what could be done to maintain the cemetery finally led to a group pushing restoration efforts. Our clean up on Sat. will be part of these restoration efforts.
Join in a Group Cemetery Clean-Up
Historic Grandview Cemetery, Bryan
Saturday, Oct 23, 10:00 AM
3499 Old Kurten Road, Bryan, TX 77808
Please bring gloves, rakes and large garbage bags.
Contact Pam Johnson at prljohnson@yahoo.com if you’d like to carpool.
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