DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the San Marcos-Blanco Cemetery. Now, cemeteries have a way of holding onto stories that the living forget. And this one — sitting in Hays County between two communities that don't even exist on most maps anymore — has been holding on for a good long while.
The year was 1893, and five trustees of the newly formed San Marcos and Blanco Cemetery Association sat down and made it official. Henry Richardson, Luckey McQueen, Wyatt Newman, James Langdon, and Miles Bowes — those five men purchased ten point six two acres of land from W. O. and Leonora Hutchison.
Their intention was clear: this land would serve as a cemetery for the African American citizens of Nance's Mill and Mountain City, two communities together known as the Blanco community. And they picked the site with some care — set it right midway between those two communities, so neither one had to walk farther than the other to say goodbye to their own. But here's the thing about cemeteries and intentions.
The ground had already made its own plans. The earliest recorded burial was that of Emma Hamilton, laid to rest in August of 1886. That's seven years before the association ever purchased a single acre.
The land was already in use as a graveyard before the ink dried on any deed. The site went by the name San Marcos Colored Cemetery, and it grew quietly, the way these places do. Today, more than three hundred graves are marked with headstones — and beyond those, there are numerous unmarked graves as well.
Teachers are buried there. Farmers. Ministers.
People who built communities with their hands and their faith and their learning. The site also served as a paupers' burial ground, sometimes called the paupers' plot, which means it opened its arms to those who had the least of everything — except, in the end, a place to rest. The name shifted over the years, the way names do.
In 1981 it was officially changed to the San Marcos Community Cemetery. Then in 1996, the original name was restored — San Marcos-Blanco Cemetery — a quiet decision to remember where this place came from and who it was made for. And it's still active.
Still maintained by the cemetery association. Still receiving the people of this community, more than a century after five trustees and a handshake with the Hutchisons started the whole thing. Some ground just has a calling.
This ground found its purpose before anyone even tried to give it one.
What the marker says
In 1893 five trustees of the newly formed San Marcos and Blanco Cemetery Association purchased 10.62 acres of land from w. O. and Leonora Hutchison. The trustees were Henry Richardson, Luckey McQueen, Wyatt Newman, James Langdon and Miles Bowes. The land purchased was intended for use as a cemetery by the African American citizens of the communities of Nance's Mill and Mountain City, together known as the Blanco community. The graveyard site was located midway between the two communities. The earliest recorded burial was that of Emma Hamilton in August 1886, indicating the land was in use as a graveyard prior to the land purchase. The site was called the San Marcos Colored Cemetery. More than 300 graves are marked with headstones and exist along with numerous unmarked graves. among those buried here are teachers, farmers and ministers. The site has also been used as a paupers' burial ground and was sometimes referred to as the paupers' plot. In 1981 the name was officially changed to the San Marcos Community Cemetery and in 1996 the original name was restored to the san Marcos-Blanco Cemetery. The site is still active and is maintained by the cemetery association. (1997)