Sand Flat Cemetery
Athens, Henderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1856, Joseph M. Stirman of Kentucky donated five acres of his property for the building of a church and school regardless of race, sex, or religion, establishing the Sand Flat community. Of these five acres, two acres signify the resting place for the African American community of this area. The first known burial in 1884 is attributed to Clarrisa Andrews Royall (1844-1884), the wife of Abraham "Abe" Royall (1835-1911). Both are buried here, along with their descendants. Notable burials also include Henry Givens (1843-1923), a successful farmer and school trustee who came to Henderson County as a slave in 1855, Joseph "Joe" Manion, a farmer and influential member of the Sand Flat community, and Abe Royall, a farmer and significant contributor to the area. All three gentlemen are believed to have been brought to Henderson County as slaves and then gained their freedom. By 1867, all three men were registered on the black voters list in Henderson County.The landscape of the Sand Flat, also known as Sandflat, Cemetery is traditional with concrete, fieldstone, sandstone, and granite monuments surrounded by a chain link fence and shaded by a variety of trees. Burials include settlers to the area and their descendants, veterans from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as burials marking free masons. Many of the graves mark the final resting place for teachers, administrators and school board members who were dedicated to the education of their children and others in the Sand Flat community. The descendants of these early families continue to live in this area and care for the cemetery. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2010
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1856 Joseph Stirman donated five acres for a church and school open to all "regardless of race, sex, or religion," seeding the Sand Flat community; two of those acres became the resting place of its African American families. Men like Henry Givens, brought to the county enslaved in 1855, gained their freedom and by 1867 stood on the county's Black voter rolls, going on to farm, teach, and lead. The cemetery holds their descendants alongside veterans of both World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam, tended still by the families who remain.
Why it matters
Sand Flat traces an African American community's arc from slavery through emancipation, the vote, and generations of education and military service in one East Texas neighborhood.
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Related people
- · Henry Givens
- · Abraham "Abe" Royall
- · Joseph M. Stirman
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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