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Williamson County Historical Commission details work, threats at several ‘lost’ cemeteries
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Summary
The commission reviewed a cemeteries committee report describing 222 volunteer hours, filing Notices of Existence for Jonah Hispanic Cemetery and Circleville (Crayton) Cemetery, fence damage at Union Hill Cemetery, and threats to the Foster Cemetery from proposed road and utility work.
The Williamson County Historical Commission reviewed an extensive cemeteries committee report at its Jan. 8, 2026 meeting that detailed volunteer restoration hours, new cemetery filings, infrastructure damage, and active threats to several burial sites.
Although committee chair Joe Plunkett was listed as absent, the minutes include his full report. It records 222 CRV hours between November and December (160 hours restoring cemeteries and 62 hours mowing), unreimbursed expenses and recent purchases for marker repairs, and a $20 t-shirt donation submitted to the treasurer. The report states the committee filed a Notice of Existence for a newly identified site named Jonah Hispanic Cemetery, which appears to contain at least 12 Hispanic graves; the site is unfenced pasture with cattle and has sustained broken monuments. The committee said it has not yet located the landowner.
The report also describes damage to a Union Hill Cemetery fence caused by a driver; the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office provided the driver’s name and insurance company and the committee is obtaining repair quotes pending insurer approval. Work at Circleville Cemetery found 24 graves (majority Crayton family), prompting plans to file a Notice of Existence and to install permanent grave markers; the committee renamed that site based on the surnames found. In Foster Cemetery the committee located nine graves and made five stone markers; the site faces threats from the county’s CR214 extension and a planned Georgetown water line, and the committee plans to work with SWCA Environmental Engineers for assistance.
The minutes state the committee makes weekly field checks to update GPS, access, and contacts as required by THC and that Joseph P. is preparing the annual report for the Texas Historical Commission. The commission accepted the cemeteries report as recorded in the minutes; the minutes do not record a mover, seconder, or vote tally for that acceptance.
Members discussed increasing visibility of cemetery dedications and public notices in the County Clerk’s office and noted that indexing limitations in some counties are caused by deed-search software differences rather than state law alone. The minutes record ongoing plans to produce cemetery PDFs for the commission website and to pursue fencing and markers to protect vulnerable sites.