Mount Olive Cemetery
Stephenville, Erath County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This historic African American cemetery was established in 1922 when the Colored Burial Association purchased acreage from Charles Neblett. Many of the first burials were relocated graves from the segregated West End Cemetery, dating to 1856. The first burial at Mount Olive Cemetery was on May 5, 1922, for Wallace Howell. According to headstone inventories and death records, the cemetery contains more than 250 known African American graves with likely dozens more unmarked. The Colored Burial Association maintained the cemetery until 1972. The cemetery remains an active burial ground with a significant view into the African American heritage of Stephenville. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2012
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Mount Olive Cemetery was established in 1922 when Stephenville's Colored Burial Association bought land from Charles Neblett, in part to reinter graves moved from the segregated West End Cemetery dating back to 1856. The first burial here honored Wallace Howell in May 1922, and the grounds now hold more than 250 known African American graves, with likely dozens more unmarked. The Burial Association tended the cemetery until 1972, and it remains an active burial ground.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the heritage of Stephenville's African American community and stands as a lasting record of segregation and Black self-help in Texas.
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Related people
- · Wallace Howell
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Mount Pleasant Colored School
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Built in 1919 on land donated back in 1886 by J.R. Couts, this two-room brick building served as the only school for African American children in Weatherford. Renamed Mount Pleasant Colored School in 1936, it educated Black students during the long decades of legal segregation, when separate and rarely equal facilities were the rule across Texas and the South. Later expanded with an additional frame structure, it stood as the heart of the community's educational life.
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Cornelia Graves
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