Honoring Unknown Graves

Honoring Unknown Graves. . , A large number of sunken, unmarked graves were revealed in 2004 when this area was cleared of heavy underbrush by a carefully selected and supervised crew averaging ten offenders from the Huntsville "Walls" unit. These men were permitted by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to perform community service at Oakwood Cemetery. , Some of the graves were likely those of slaves who arrived in the Huntsville area with early settlers. Others could have died during the yellow fever epidemic that claimed many Huntsville victims in the summer and fall of 1867. Ground-penetrating radar testing in 2013 indicated later graves dating perhaps to the 1950s., Among the burials within the newly cleared area were eight graves marked with small headstones made of white marble. Remnants of a similar number of broken markers handcrafted from shells and concrete were also present. Some gravesites might have been outlined or otherwise indicated by rocks, stones, wood or other materials long ago scattered or completely disintegrated. , Since identification of the burials was not possible, the offender crew members themselves suggested the use of unlettered white concrete crosses identical to those found in Huntsville TDCJ Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery to mark the graves of prisoners whose remains are unclaimed, or whose families cannot afford interment at other locations, The inmates idea received immediate approval, and the cooperation of TDCJ was obtained promptly. Material costs were shared between the City of Huntsville and TDCJ, and production of the crosses took place at the Walls Unit. , Soon afterward, the Oakwood Cemetery offender crew installed the 155 crosses that now lend dignity to the final resting places of these unknown black residents of Huntsville.