30.0 - HLC Letter - Bethany Cemetery — original pdf

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Sam Fahnestock Historic Preservation Office City of Austin June 27, 2024 Subject: Request to consider initiation of historic zoning, Bethany Cemetery (1300 Springdale Rd) Dear Mr. Fahnestock, We would like to include the Bethany Cemetery, located at 1300 Springdale Road, on the Historic Landmark Commission’s July agenda for consideration of initiation of historic zoning. The owner, the Bethany Cemetery Association, fully supports this request. Bethany Cemetery is a six-acre, private burial ground located in East Austin. The Bethany Cemetery Company was formed in 1893 in response to the needs of the African American community. Bethany Cemetery is considered Austin’s first black cemetery.1 The Cemetery contains graves on site as early as 1871 and is strategically situated along El Camino Real de los Tejas, a 17th/18th- Century Native American and Spanish Colonial trade route. Hundreds of Austinites are buried at Bethany Cemetery, many of which have dedicated their lives to the betterment of African Americans throughout the region. Dozens are associated with local Black churches, benevolent societies, trade unions, lodges, businesses, war veterans, and tragic events such as the Waller and Shoal Creeks Flood of 1915. Bethany Cemetery is a reminder of the development of Austin’s African American Community from the time of slavery and the Civil War through the present. The impact of the site and its interred are felt citywide to this day, as likely remnants of the Camino Real are intact, and Bethany Cemetery Association maintains an active curriculum program for public schools. The Cemetery’s strong community value, historical associations, archeology, and landscape features, more than fulfill the criteria for local landmark designation. Thank you for your consideration and feel free to reach out regarding any questions or concerns. Thank you, JuanRaymon Rubio, Associate AIA Historic Landmark Commissioner, District 2 BC-JuanRaymon.Rubio@AustinTexas.gov Motioned By: Commissioner Rubio Kevin Koch, AIA Historic Landmark Commissioner, District 3 BC-Kevin.Koch@AustinTexas.gov Seconded By: Commissioner Koch 1 Austin’s first public cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery, allowed a designated corner for “colored” Austinites in 1856, and the nearby Plummers Cemetery was established around 1898 (another private African American rural cemetery later purchased by the City of Austin). Evergreen Cemetery, established in 1926 to serve Austin’s African American Community contains the historic Highland Park Cemetery. Highland Park Cemetery was established in 1891 and reportedly served all races from 1891-1893. Oakwood Cemetery was established by the state in 1839 and later transferred to the City of Astin in 1856. Approximately 1,211 people were buried in the “colored” section of Oakwood Cemetery between 1859-1880. Source: Save Austin’s Cemeteries, Historic Cemeteries Master Plan, 2015