Young County aims to honor, preserve neglected cemeteries

YOUNG COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) — With a ground-penetrating radar, crews identified nearly fifty possible burial sites hidden beneath the surface. Now the county, along with local descendants, is working to preserve the site and honor every life buried there.

What started as a preservation project quickly became something more after radar scans were brought to William P. Johnston Cemetery. The radar survey uncovered dozens of possible unmarked graves, some inside the cemetery and others stretching into nearby land.

“The interesting thing is they found a lot of unmarked graves, but so many of them were actually outside of the cemetery fencing, and many were even outside of the actual land dedicated for the cemetery,” said Young County Judge Win Graham. “Some of those were on county land. Some of those bodies were on city land, and some were on land owned by TxDOT.”

Graham said the county immediately stepped in to take responsibility.

“The plan is that the city of Graham and TxDOT are going to partner with the county to create a cemetery to include everybody who was buried there,” said Graham. “The county will pay for the new fence, the county will pay to install the grass, and that we will maintain, mow and paint and edge and preserve the cemetery.”

The William P. Johnston Cemetery preserves a lot of Young County history. Back in 2023, Judge Graham found a deed that stated that his great-grandmother owned this plot of land and gifted it to the young county judge at the time in 1923.

The radar survey showed over 60 possible unmarked graves, and inside the cemetery, only seven graves are marked with headstones.

As the county looks to preserve the site, the William P. Johnson preservation committee has expressed an interest in a memorial wall, something permanent where all the names, birthdate and death date could be marked, recognizing every person buried.

Judge Graham said the goal is simple: to make sure the cemetery is maintained, respected, and that those buried there are never forgotten.

“The cemetery to me has been, has been something that has really brought our community together. And it’s allowed me to meet so many new people in our community,” said Graham. “I think there’s a lot of pride in this cemetery and that puts a lot of responsibility on the county to do it right.”

While the cemetery has been closed since 1960, Judge Graham said the renovations will take place, with a timeline expected when the fiscal year begins in October.