From I-35 at Georgetown take Hwy 29 towards Liberty Hill and across from Wolf Ranch shopping center turn right at Simon rd and left at CR265 or turn right at Wolf Ranch Prwy and right after one block at CR265
A special thanks to the Williamson County Sun and Natalie Townsend for this slice of history --
View Citizens Memorial Garden Cemetery "Forgotten cemetery guards family history" PDF
Citizens Memorial Garden Cemetery
also know as
Georgetown Negro Cemetery; Georgetown Citizens Cemetery
from the Austin American Statesmen -- November 8, 1984
By SHARON LEWIS of the American-Statesman Staff
The headstones scattered throughout the historic black cemetery just west of Georgetown bear information such as Plesant Monroe, 1829-1908; Zen Clee Riding, Sgt. Co. C, World War I, 1897-1963; and Ethel Caldwell, died 1917, age 92.
The above named are among the more than 100 Georgetown citizens — some of them former slaves — buried in what is now called Citizens Memorial Garden off County Road 265.
Harvey Miller is president of the Citizens Memorial Association that is responsible for the upkeep of the cemetery. Miller said that in 1906 the cemetery was willed by the city of Georgetown to the black community for as long as they could maintain it.
Miller said that at the time that the land was willed to the community, cemeteries were segregated. Hispanic citizens are buried at one end of the cemetery, which used to be separated from the black section with a barbed wire fence, he said.
"We're open to anyone who wants to be buried here," Miller said. Plots, which cost $10, are all sold, but more may be created along the fence row, he said.
He said that because Citizens Memorial Garden is nearly full, the association's priority for 1985 will be to acquire property for a new cemetery. He said that if the land is donated to the association, the cost of $10 per plot could continue. But if the association has to buy the property, the price of a plot would have to be reconsidered. "We would sell plots at our cost, and try to keep plot costs within the range of what low-income families can afford, even if they have to pay for them over time," he said.
The cemetery has been known by various names through the years, including Colored Cemetery and Georgetown Cemetery, Miller said, but primarily as the Masonic Cemetery, Miller said.
The Masons maintained the cemetery from 1906 until 1980 when they gave the Citizens Memorial Association written permission to take on the responsibility of upkeep at the association's request, Miller said.
One of the association's projects is the cemetery west of Georgetown bears witness to history. beautification and restoration of the cemetery, where burial took place as recently as a month ago, Miller said.
Plans include planting a cedar hedge along the backside of the cemetery, and dotting the grounds with more trees, Miller said. The cemetery will be fenced to discourage people from dumping trash there, he said.
Miller said the cemetery should be ready for landscaping in the spring, thanks to the clean-up it is getting from its permanent caretaker who was hired this year with $1,000 assistance from the United Way. ‑
Another project of the association is compiling a registry of the graves in the cemetery. Miller said, "most graves were not marked at the time of burial." Metal markers installed later were pulled up by heavy machinery used to clean the cemetery, Miller said, so he wonders how the location of the graves will be determined.
A special thanks to the Williamson County Sun and Natalie Townsend for this slice of history --
GPS Coordinates view Goggle Map
North 30.63411 - West -097.69686
UTM 14 R - easting 0624883 - northing 3389810
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view interment list
Burials / Grave Listingsby ancestry.com
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view interment list as of 1984
by Clayton L. & Lucile E. Harrison PDF
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by findagrave.com