Journal of History and Culture Journal of History and Culture

j o u r n a l o f h i s t o r y a n d c u l t u r e
of a family plot) 31 . Olivewood Cemetery, also in Houston, contains burials from 1867 (or earlier, some inscriptions
are partially obscured) to 1961 32 . Efforts are underway to restore both of these cemeteries, and initial efforts focus
on mapping existing surface features. The clay-rich soil in the Houston area makes geophysical work difficult, but
ground-penetrating radar (GPR) did provide evidence of unmarked burials at Evergreen as well as the location of
an old road through the middle of the cemetery.
Field Work
The Texas Historical Commission (THC) has outlined a preservation plan for historic cemeteries 33 . One
of the first recommended steps is to create a map of the cemetery grounds, including the location of landscape
features and gravestones. The THC further recommends producing a description of gravestone material (concrete,
marble, etc.), the name of deceased, vital dates, and the exact inscription on the gravestone. The THC also suggests
recording vegetation and landscape features.
We utilized global positioning system (GPS) technology to record locations of key surface features, such
as headstones, vegetation, and the creek. We used hand-held Garmin devices with average resolution in the heavily
treed site of +/- 12 feet. These data were then loaded into a geographic information system (GIS) for interpretation.
We used ArcMap 9.0 software and obtained georeferenced aerial photographs of the field site from 1930, 1956,
and 2006. We also acquired ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data in order to obtain images of the subsurface. The
locations of the geophysical profiles were also recorded with the GPS units. Geophysical methods such as GPR are
excellent tools for this type of project because they are non-invasive and non-destructive. In Texas in particular,
GPR has been shown to be an effective tool for locating unmarked graves 34 . We utilized a cart-mounted GSSI system
with a 500 MHz antenna.
Geologic Setting
Prairie View is located in Waller County in southeastern Texas (Figure 2). Wyatt Chapel Cemetery is located
north of the town on the eastern bank of Ponds Creek, approximately 7 miles east of the current Brazos River
channel. The site is located on the Pleistocene Willis Formation, consisting of 1-3 million year old fluvial sands 35 .
Stratigraphically, the Willis Formation overlies the Lissie Formation of slightly older fluvial deposits, which in turn
overlies the Tertiary (~20 million years) Fleming clay.
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