Union Hill Cemetery

This is a small cemetery of a few hundred graves that sits behind Saint Paul's Lutheran Church,…read morewhich is just a couple of blocks off of Highway 79 in the town of Thorndale. Virtually all of the names on the grave markers have German roots. This is still very much an active cemetery with plenty of room to grow. There is a Texas historical sign in front of the church, which has more information on it in the photos below. On the west side of the cemetery you'll find quite a number of children's graves from the early 20th century. There is no listing of names as to who is buried where, but that may be available in the neighboring church. This is the final resting place for those in this local community.

Texas State Cemetery

4.7

(43 reviews)

I stopped by the Texas State Cemetery on a Thursday afternoon in mid May. The weather was just…read morestarting to warm up, but hadn't quite crossed into "Texas hot" yet. Fred greeted me at the gate along with another staff member and immediately made me feel welcome. He asked if I was meeting anyone, looking for someone specific, or if there was anything in particular I wanted to see. What followed was one of the most unexpectedly meaningful experiences I've had in Austin. Calling what Fred did a "tour" honestly feels too shallow. He walked me through the grounds like a historian and storyteller preserving something important. He shared stories about the people buried there, explained the architecture and monuments, and had an unbelievable depth of knowledge about Texas history. But more than that, he knew how to read the moment. He knew when to pause and let you take it all in. He knew when to speak, when to move on, and somehow seemed to anticipate my questions before I even asked them. Fred was not only incredibly knowledgeable, but genuinely funny, engaging, and an amazing ambassador for the cemetery and for Texas history itself. You could tell he truly cared about preserving the stories behind the names. A cemetery may seem like an unusual destination to some people, but I see it as a place of remembrance, sacrifice, service, and history. Visiting here, especially after also seeing the Alamo, helps you understand the absolute, unmistakable pride Texans have in their state. There's just no question about it. One detail I especially appreciated was learning that the visitor center was intentionally designed to resemble the Long Barracks at the Alamo. It was a subtle but powerful connection between two places dedicated to preserving Texas history and identity. If you appreciate history, storytelling, or quiet places that make you reflect a little deeper, this is absolutely worth visiting.

Nice cemetery, no geese poop. Paved trails for a nice short walk. But would not want to be buried…read morehere unless I can get a stone that says fajita king

Hutto City cemetery

The cemetery appears to be about 5 acres in size with hundreds of headstones well organized in…read morerows. It sits just on the outskirts of the Hutto city limits and despite still being somewhat in the country, there are some new homes next to it. There are quite a number of headstones from the 1800s and there are many veterans buried here including a couple of confederate soldiers. The cemetery has a single lane gravel road running through the sections. This is still an active cemetery judging by a few very recent burials. There is a Texas historical sign at the entrance that tells you some great historical facts and is included in the photos of this review. This location is well manicured and the headstones are well arranged, not scattered about. You'll find many well cared for headstones, but there are no above ground mausoleums. This is one of the nicest cemeteries worthy of spending some time walking through.

Shiloh McCutcheon Cemetery

This is a fascinating historical cemetery that is located on a small single gravel road that is…read moresurrounded by fields. There are some new homes being erected less than a mile away (Brooklands subdivision). The one thing that was noticeable about the cemetery is the fact that it has been well cared for and many of the headstones have been cleaned. There is also a Texas historical sign with some great information concerning this cemetery (pictured). The cemetery that sits on about 1 to 2 acres on a gently rolling hill with a fenced perimeter. The majority of the graves are from the mid1800s on up and there are a couple of newer graves, one is from 2021. Like many of the cemeteries from this time period, sadly many of the graves are those of children. Within the space you'll see some historical names, such as Hutto. This is definitely a cemetery worth visiting if you're into such things, however, I'd recommend an off-road vehicle to get to it. After publishing this I realized that Yelp maps got the location wrong. The location is almost 2 miles away from where they say it is. You actually have to take County Road 163 until it dead ends at the cemetery which is nothing more than a single lane dirt road. I believe that Google maps has the better location.

Austin State School cemetery

Gaining access to this cemetery required special permission as this is not accessible to the…read moregeneral public. The entrance gate sits across from Camp Mabry on 35th St. Most of this less than half acre cemetery is surrounded by the State school buildings and grounds, but on the south side is residential homes. You can also hear the noise of Mopac just a few hundred yards away. According to the memorial stone at the entrance of the cemetery, there are about 130+ people interred here. However, within this small space I counted less than 40 stone markers. The markers themselves are almost entirely from the late 20s through the 1930s and they are all cast in concrete, not marble or granite. All but one marker denotes just the name of the decedent and the date of their passing and nothing else. I was told there was a fire in one of the buildings back in the 20s which killed a few patients and I noticed two of the decedents had the exact same day of death in 1929. This does not appear to be an active cemetery anymore. There was really not a lot to see here, nor was there a historical plaque other than the memorial stone at the entrance. The photos included in this review pretty much sum up what is here.

Plummers Cemetery

This cemetery is located a short walk away from the Bethany cemetery just a couple of blocks away…read moreon Springdale Road. There is a one dirt road driveway that leads in to the cemetery, but it does have a locked gate to prevent entry by car. Unlike the Bethany cemetery, I was not able to find a Texas historical sign posted here. There's not much in the way of a cemetery lawn to speak of, but it is adorned with dozens of well manicured oak trees on a hilly 5 acre lot. This cemetery, like the Bethany cemetery, is primarily populated by African-Americans. There are also dozens of graves belonging to military service members. There still appears to be more room for future interments. The photos below add more insight.

St Pauls Baptist Cemetery

3.5

(2 reviews)

This is another one of those cemetery plots in the Austin area that just seem to show up out of…read morenowhere in the middle of a residential area. This cemetery sits at the end of a cul-de-sac on Teton Drive, which is just a few blocks from US 183 on Ohlen Road. Sadly, the cemetery which sits on less than an acre is in a shambles and in a very disorganized state. It is completely surrounded by residential homes on all sides, but this would've been in the middle of nowhere at the turn of the 20th century, which is how old some of these markers are. There are many older headstones here blended in with some newer ones as recently as 2020. Most of the cemetery is primarily green space with lots of toppled over headstones. That leads me to believe there may be many people buried at this location which may have had wooden markers at one time which have long since decayed away. Why there are some recent interments amongst these much older ones in such a dilapidated and disorganized cemetery is beyond me. I suspect this may be a African-American cemetery. Unfortunately, at this time, it does not appear that any attempt has been made to restore any of the fallen or broken headstones. At least the photos below will be added to Google maps.

This African-American cemetery is surrounded by a high fence and maintained by the nearby St. Paul…read moreBaptist Church, which was established in 1873. There are 172 burials at the cemetery that have been documented at findagrave.com. Other documents and websites include various information about burials and family members. The Find a Grave listings include some images of the people buried there and their grave markers, obituaries, and death certificates. The cemetery, once in an open field, was surrounded by the Wooten neighborhood when it was established; eventually the high fence was added. Note: The church's website shows its name as "St. Paul." On Find a Grave, the cemetery is listed as "St. Pauls." The sign on the cemetery fence reads "St. Paul's Baptist Church."

Westbrook Memorial Gardens

This cemetery is located about a mile from Elgin City Center on E. 2nd St. There is a historical…read moresign at the front of the cemetery which denotes this place as being primarily an African-American cemetery. There are hundreds of graves sitting on this acreage. Despite the fact that the grounds are mowed, many of the gravesites are in disarray with crooked and fallen over headstones. Another aspect of this place is the large number of handmade concrete markers with handwriting which were very inexpensive to make. For the most part the cemetery is fairly well ordered but there is some randomness to it as well as far as how the graves are arranged. This may still be an active cemetery, although the newest interment I could find was from 2020. The photos included in the review tell the rest.

Saul Cemetery

This is a small family cemetery located along FM-1660 just outside Hutto and surrounded on all…read moresides by farmland. Out of the over 20 graves found here, sadly, about 10 of them belong to newborns and infants. There is a Texas historical sign on the property which you can read about in the photos below that add a great more detail. Sadly, one thing that was also customary was that slaves were also buried on this property, but have unmarked graves. It does look as though some effort has been made in the upkeep of this small cemetery.

Preece Cemetery