Broadway Cemetery Historic District

About this property

The Broadway Cemetery Historic District, also known as the Broadway Cemeteries, is a six-block collective of seven separate cemeteries in the city of Galveston, Texas, covering an area of 15.27 acres (6.18 ha). As of 2014, an estimated 6,000 people were buried in the district, including multiple prominent Galveston citizens. As of 2014, all cemeteries are still accepting new interments, although these are sporadic. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. Galveston, Texas, was hit hard with nine yellow fever epidemics between 1839 and 1867, necessitating additional public burial sites. At the time, it was the largest city in Texas and was the seaport of entry for the state. It is estimated that in 1853, 60 percent of its population was affected by the yellow fever crisis, with a death toll of 523. The island's last yellow fever epidemic in 1867 killed hundreds and caused thousands of residents to flee. One resident who stayed behind remembered that the victims "died on the island like sheep." By 1912, the stretch of 42nd Street that separated Evergreen and Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemeteries from the others was closed and removed, creating one contiguous complex. Avenue K was narrowed between 1926 and 1928 to facilitate more burials. On June 13, 2014, the complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Seven separate cemeteries make up the historic district. As of 2014, about 6,000 people had been buried across all of the Broadway Cemeteries; about 85% of these burials took place between 1839 and 1864. Most of the recent burials (post-1940) have taken place in Oleander and Old Catholic Cemeteries. Located in the northeast corner of the complex, the Old City Cemetery was the first cemetery established as part of the original town charter in 1839. The cemetery measures approximately 288 ft (88 m) by 383.5 ft (116.9 m) and includes about 1,500 interments, over 90% of which took place before 1964. Its history is the source of rumors and folklore. It is alleged to be haunted by Thomas Nicaragua Smith, executed as a deserter from the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. The remains of Elize Alberti and her family also come with a legend: she is alleged to have murdered her own children. Established in 1839 as Potter's Field Cemetery adjacent to the Old City Cemetery, it was originally set aside for the burial of unclaimed or indigent people. During the Franklin D. Roosevelt New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA) agenda, a Galveston city ordinance renamed it Oleander Cemetery in 1939. During this period, the cemetery was reconfigured. Oleander Cemetery was the site of the earliest Jewish burials, with the southeast corner set aside for them. About 1,000 people are buried here.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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