Hendrick Arnold Survey No. 59 Colored Burial Ground
Bandera, Bandera County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Freedman and soldier Hendrick Arnold (1804-1849) was awarded land following the Texas Revolution for his participation in the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto. He received six surveys in what was then Bexar county, including this property in Bandera county. Thinking of his family, Hendrick gave land to his father, grandmother and brother, Holly Arnold. Holly Arnold lived on this land with his wife, Mary B. Arnold (d. 1897). Mary is buried in what was known as the Arnold Cemetery on the Holly Arnold Headright Land Grant. Holly’s death and birth records are unknown. Over the years, the cemetery on the Arnold Survey served as a burial ground for area residents. In 1922, one acre of the Hendrick Arnold Survey no. 59 was recorded in deeds as colored burial ground, used primarily by African American families. The first burial in the cemetery was that of John Benson, born in 1885 and died on April 4, 1890. From 1884 to 1944, twelve deaths of African Americans were recorded in county records: John Benson, (unknown) Wellencrane (d. 1890), John Coats (d. 1903), Leonor Benson (d. 1905), Maria Jackson (d. 1912), Baby Cooksey (d. 1917), C.D. Cooksey (d. 1920), Jeff Cooksey, Jr. (d. 1924), Andrew Jackson (d. 1925), Mary Jackson (d. 1925), Everett Robinson (d. 1926) and D.W. Leonard (d. 1944). Many of their birth dates remain unknown. Other burials may exist but after years of neglect, headstones were damaged and potential temporary markers were not found. Burial record research and site surveys have uncovered dozens of unmarked grave sites, a tangible reminder of the pioneers of the area and their descendants. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2016
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Hendrick Arnold, a free Black man who fought in the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto, was granted land for his service in the Texas Revolution, including this Bandera County tract. He passed acreage to his family, and over generations the ground became a burial place—formally recorded in 1922 as a colored burial ground used by local African American families. Neglect erased many headstones, but research has recovered dozens of unmarked graves and the names of those laid to rest here.
Why it matters
It honors a free Black veteran of Texas independence and the African American community whose presence on the frontier is too often unrecorded.
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Related people
- · Hendrick Arnold
- · Holly Arnold
- · Mary B. Arnold
Related events
- · Siege of Bexar
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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