Olivewood Cemetery
Olivewood Cemetery is filled with many rich, diverse cultural and religious traditions and is considered the final resting place of some of Houston’s most prominent African Americans. The cemetery was established by Fourth Ward residents in the late 1800s as a burial ground within Houston city limits for formerly enslaved men and women and their descendants.
Olivewood Cemetery demonstrates a variety of West African spiritual traditions and symbolism, including backwards or inverted letters carved on tombstones, broken dishes and jars placed on tombs to deter spirits from returning to their previous homes, and upright pipes and seashells meant to connect the world of the living with the world of the dead.
Olivewood Cemetery is threatened due to water runoff from neighboring commercial establishments which has resulted in flooding. In addition, many tombstones have been broken and are in need of repair, and the cemetery’s proximity to the bayou causes rapid plant growth which damages and covers gravesites.
Descendants of those buried at Olivewood, alongside other community members, volunteer their time and energy toward the preservation of this important site. Visit Olivewood Cemetery’s Facebook page and the Descendants of Olivewood site to learn more.
UPDATE: Olivewood Cemetery was named one of America’s 11 Most Endangered historic places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2022.
ADDRESS: 200 Court St, Houston (Harris County)
DESIGNATION: Historic Texas Cemetery
STATUS: In Progress
RESOURCE TYPE: Municipal, African American Heritage
YEAR LISTED: 2011
