Lake Como Cemetery

Lake Como Cemetery. . African Americans settled into what is known as the Lake Como community between 1907 and 1908. Established to serve the African American population, a cemetery was founded about 1925 and was historically referred to as the Lake Como Colored Cemetery., Some of the early residents were railroad/trolley car and domestic workers at the nearby Arlington Heights Inn and Lake Como Amusement Park serviced by the western roundabout of the city's trolley car line. Others owned and worked in local businesses or at the Industrial and Mechanical (I&M) College founded in 1909 by Baptist ministers. During World War I, part of the Como community was used for an Army training camp called Camp Bowie., Lake Como Cemetery Association was formally established by Zion Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of Reverend George Washington Burton II (1876-1966) as a burial ground for the community. Reverend Burton and his family members are buried in the cemetery., Undocumented burials took place on these sacred grounds prior to 1925. The earliest recorded burial was Angus Woods in 1926, followed by the burial of 8-year-old George Wilson Jr., son of grocer George H. Wilson Sr., in 1927. Burials also include four persons who were born prior to the end of slavery in 1865 and veterans who served in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Lake Como Cemetery serves as a reminder of the early African American families who developed the Lake Como community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2019.