DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Greenfield Cemetery in Polk County. Now settle in, because this one starts with a block of land and ends with something a little harder to measure. In 1846, local officials in Livingston set aside a block right in the heart of town for use as a cemetery for the area's African American residents.
They called it the Livingston Colored Cemetery, and it sat bounded on all four sides by Feagin, Tyler, Sherman, and Houston streets. For a good while, that ground held the community's departed. Then the railroad came.
As railroads do, it brought new residents pouring into the city through the 1880s, and that original block of earth started running short on room. Now, the community had a problem, and problems like that have a way of sitting heavy. So in the 1890s, leaders from Livingston's Black community went looking for counsel.
They sought out County Judge Arthur B. Green. And here is where the story turns.
Judge Green didn't just offer advice. He offered land — three acres of it — as a gift, outright, for a new cemetery. The trustees accepted that gift on October 24, 1896.
Then they did something that speaks to the care they had for those already resting in the old ground: they moved the graves. Every one of them, carried from the original location to the new site. And when it came time to name the new cemetery, they chose Greenfield — a name that reflects, as the marker says plainly, the judge's generosity.
The story didn't stop there. In 1910, the cemetery trustees went back and bought additional land from Green's widow and children, expanding what the judge had started. The earliest marked grave on the property dates to 1906, though the marker is clear that dozens of earlier graves exist — folks whose names may not be carved in stone but whose presence is real all the same.
And if you walk that ground today, you'll find military service markers and fraternal organization markers scattered throughout, quiet testimony to the contributions, efforts, and work of generations of African American residents from this part of East Texas. Some stories end with a monument. This one is the monument.
What the marker says
In 1846, local officials designated a block in the central part of Livingston for use as a cemetery for local African Americans. Originally called Livingston Colored Cemetery, the burial ground was bounded by Feagin, Tyler, Sherman and Houston streets. As the railroad brought new residents to the city in the 1880s, cemetery space became limited. In the 1890s, leaders from the Black community sought the advice of County Judge Arthur B. Green, and he offered to give the citizens three acres of land for a new cemetery. Trustees of the cemetery accepted the gift on October 24, 1896. They moved the graves from the original location to the new site and changed the cemetery name to Greenfield to reflect the judge's generosity. In 1910, cemetery trustees bought additional land from Green's widow and children. The cemetery's earliest marked grave dates to 1906, but dozens of earlier graves exist. The military service and fraternal organization markers found throughout the burial ground reflect the contributions, efforts and work of generations of the area's African American residents. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003