Details for Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5507017689

Data

Marker Number 17689
Atlas Number 5507017689
Marker Title Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery
Index Entry Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery
Address
City Huntsville
County Walker
UTM Zone
UTM Easting
UTM Northing
Subject Codes cemetery
Marker Year 2013
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location near 366 Bowers Blvd one block west of Sycamore Street
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 18" x 28" with post
Marker Text Located a few blocks from the first prison in Texas, the 1848 Huntsville Penitentiary, the Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 3,000 inmates who died while incarcerated within the Texas Prison System. The first inmate to be interred here was laid to rest in the 1850s. During the first 100 years of the cemetery’s use, inmates were buried among weeds and trees with no record of their death other than the grave marker. Named for the assistant warden who was in charge of clearing the cemetery of debris and locating over 900 graves, Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery is the only active cemetery in Texas for inmates whose bodies are unclaimed by family. More than 100 people are buried here each year.
ATLAS_NUM=5507017689

Location Map

Zoom in
Zoom out
0
100 km
Powered by Esri