After 177 years of operation, the Boonville Cemetery along Boonville Road in Bryan east of the freeway closed in 2012.
Now part of Brazos County’s Boonville Heritage Park, a state historical marker was dedicated on Monday (May 13).
Research for the marker that was done by the late Mary Ann Cusimano was shared by Vicki Smith-Dicky and Henry Mayo of the Brazos County historical commission.
Dicky said that former county commissioner Billy Beard and district judges Tom McDonald and Bradley Smith developed a plan in 1982 to save the cemetery…the last piece of Boonville’s existence as the first county seat of Brazos County.
Mayo also pointed out the base of the marker includes a dedication to Cusimano, the first time that has been done in Brazos County. Mayo said the sun dried brick that forms the marker base came from the former Ursuline Convent that dates back to 1901.
Accepting the state marker, county judge Duane Peters recalled growing up driving by the cemetery when Boonville Road was the only way to get into Bryan.
The Boonville cemetery contains 374 gravesites dating back to 1846.
Click HERE to read and download the dedication program.
Click below to hear comments from the dedication program on May 13, 2024.
Listen to “Dedication of a state historical marker at the Boonville Cemetery” on Spreaker.