There are many rural cemeteries in Wood County and the Mineola Junior Historians are promoting Cemetery Visitation Day, Sunday, April 2. The first Sundays in the months of April and October were selected as dates for encouraging people to visit and help maintain the thousands of cemeteries around the state which are neglected or threatened.

A resolution by the Texas Senate and the House of Representatives in the 75th Legislative Session in 1997 specify these two Sundays to promote greater public awareness. This action was initiated and supported by Save Texas Cemeteries, Inc.

Interested citizens and descendants of those buried in cemeteries have the right by Texas law to visit these areas and maintain them. However, many locations are inaccessible and sometimes inconvenient to visit. With the establishment of two official visitation days each year, STC hopes to promote cooperation between property owners and those interested in the cemeteries.

The guidelines for property owners include:

• Visitation Day extends from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Please unlock your property for visiting descendants by 9 a.m. If you can’t be present by 9 a.m., please post instructions on how to access the property at the public street entrance for visiting families.  

• For visibility, post signage at the public street access to your property. With this signage please post your name or the name of your representative, and how to contact you. Also, you can state any special considerations or conditions for your visitors to observe.

• By law, descendants have the right to ornamate and decorate grave sites as they see fit. This may include (but is not limited to) flowers, clean-up of the site, erecting tombstones, or even a fence to prevent livestock from entering the grave site. We hope that you might consider allowing extended visitation privileges for major improvements to the site.

• You can lock up your property at 6 p.m., after the guests have left.

Guidelines for visitors include:

• Access is limited to the burial site and route to it. Please respect the privacy of owners and their land.

• Please leave by 6 p.m., and leave the cemetery as neat as when you arrived. Leave no improvements or ornamentation that contradict the property owner’s stated wishes.