H.R. No. 2392
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Texas Historical Commission has recognized Long
Branch Cemetery as a Historic Texas Cemetery, and this honor is
being celebrated with the unveiling of an Official Texas Historical
Marker on May 16, 2015; and
WHEREAS, One of the oldest graveyards in Falls County, this
bucolic site is all that remains of Long Branch, an African American
community of tenant farmers and manual laborers, many of whom came
to Texas from Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and
Virginia; the cemetery traces its beginnings to 1883, when trustees
of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Long Branch purchased land in
the settlement for the purpose of erecting a sanctuary and
establishing a burial ground; and
WHEREAS, The Long Branch Cemetery was a community graveyard,
meaning that any African American who was born and raised in Long
Branch could be buried there without indebtedness; while many of
the early interments went unrecorded, the cemetery is known to hold
the graves of 25 freed slaves, and the remains of many Long Branch
natives who spent their lives elsewhere were brought home by loved
ones to this final resting place; the more than 200 known burials
include those of sharecroppers, domestics, hotel workers, taxi
drivers, seamstresses, midwives, teachers, carpenters, butchers,
brick masons, and farmers; and
WHEREAS, Notable individuals buried in Long Branch include
Silvia King, a native of Morocco who is believed to have been born
in 1803 and who died in Falls County in 1937; her remarkable life
story was recorded in the 1930s by staff of the Works Progress
Administration; also buried in the cemetery are a Civil War
veteran, Anthony Shaw of the 104th U.S. Colored Infantry, as well as
veterans of World War I, World War II, and Vietnam; and
WHEREAS, The last worship services in the church were held in
1971 and the building was later destroyed by fire, but Long Branch
Cemetery remains an active burial ground and a hallowed reminder of
the rich history of this once-vibrant Texas community; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the unveiling of an Official Texas
Historical Marker at Long Branch Cemetery in Falls County and
extend to all those present sincere best wishes for a meaningful and
memorable event.
Kacal
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2392 was adopted by the House on May
13, 2015, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House