HOUSTON — Off of I-610, in a mostly industrial part of Houston's east side, there are signs that point the way to the final resting place for generations of one Black family.
This is at the Pleasant Green-Culbertson Cemetery near Oates Road and Wallisville Road.
Patricia Angel, a descendent of those buried at the cemetery, said those grave sites sit on land that was originally purchased by her great-grandfather.
“He was born into slavery and he saved up everything he had to buy 12 acres,” she said. “When I was younger, my grandfather and his brothers carried the caskets back there to bury them [family].”
Angel told KHOU 11 she still remembers a time when her family could easily access the cemetery. That’s no longer the case.
Over the years, the cemetery has become harder to find as the land surrounding it continues to be developed by trucking and gas companies, Angel explained.
“It just makes me mad that I can’t get back there to them,” she said. “My brother and my son Patrick are some of the only people who can still find it.”
The path to the cemetery leads through a metal gate and past a construction site with a large metal fence. Behind the fence, a few yards into a heavily wooded area, several tombstones cover the ground – some date back to burials from the 1800s.
“I don’t think nobody should have to be buried in those kinds of conditions,” said Angel’s son, Patrick Young. “These are our people out there. If I was dead, I’d want someone to help and come see me.”
Young said he wants to help save the cemetery for future generations.
“Maybe we can get our own fence out here and they can come and put it as a historical cemetery,” he said.
Dr. Tara Green with the University of Houston explained that many Black cemeteries have been similarly hidden or worse.
“Cemeteries have been dug up and have been replaced with highways, streets or other structures,” she said. "This is nationwide problem, too."
Historical records show that many of Houston’s historic Black burial grounds are hard to pinpoint on a map -- others have been completely forgotten or abandoned. Several Black cemeteries, including Houston’s Olivewood Cemetery, have also faced development threats in recent years.
To fight those threats, the family connected with Pleasant Green-Culberson has worked with the Harris County African American Cultural Heritage Commission (HCAACHC).
Historical researcher Debra Blacklock-Sloan, a member of HCAACHC, told KHOU 11 the family wants better access to the site and increased protections for it.
“According to Texas cemetery laws there must be egress into the cemetery, and they barely have that. Once you get inside, you see it’s overgrown and the Angel family can’t get back there to clean it,” she said.
The organization has already appealed to Harris County commissioners on behalf of the family, and Blacklock-Sloan said they will continue to do so.
“Unfortunately, this happens a lot so we have to work together to protect and preserve these cemeteries," she said.