Southend Cemetery
Huntsville, Walker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A predominantly African American neighborhood called the Flat once numbered dozens of homes in an area southeast of the original boundaries of Sam Houston State University. As the university expanded in the late 1960s and early 1970s, residents were forced to sell their property and relocate. Southend Cemetery remains the last historic link to the Flat neighborhood. In 1920, community leaders will Ezell, Colonel Williams, Byrd Stubblefield and Richard Dillard purchased five acres from Gibbs Brothers & Company to establish an African American cemetery. The four men were also listed as the original trustees for what was then called Pine Grove Cemetery Association. No record or explanation has been found for the name change to Southend Cemetery. The surrounding area was once deeply wooded and could only be accessed by way of a narrow dirt road. The cemetery has been surveyed to contain at least 200 graves, including dozens of veterans, businessmen, civic leaders, and many other prominent Huntsville individuals and families. The earliest known burial is for Sarah Skelton (d. 1920), and the oldest marked grave is for Eldredge Cox (1843-1924). Noted burials include Sgt. Luby L. Smither, founding member of the first black American Legion Post in Huntsville; and Mance Williams, owner of the city’s first African American-owned auto repair shop. As the city of Huntsville grew, the dirt access road to Southend Cemetery became an extension of Montgomery Road, and its construction from Highway 75 to Bowers Road made the site highly visible. In 1998, a group of descendants and others reorganized the Southend Cemetery Association to care for this special place. It remains a testament to residents of the Flat and generations of African American heritage in Huntsville. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2017
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Southeast of Sam Houston State University once stood the Flat, a thriving African American neighborhood cleared when the university expanded in the late 1960s and 1970s. In 1920, four community leaders bought five acres to establish this cemetery, first called Pine Grove, which holds some 200 graves of veterans, businessmen, and civic leaders. When the neighborhood vanished, the burial ground endured as the last tangible link to it, cared for by descendants who reorganized its association in 1998.
Why it matters
It preserves the memory of a Black community erased by mid-century development and honors generations of African American heritage in Huntsville.
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Related people
- · Will Ezell
- · Colonel Williams
- · Byrd Stubblefield
- · Richard Dillard
- · Sgt. Luby L. Smither
- · Mance Williams
- · Eldredge Cox
Themes & tags
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