About the McDaniel Street Cemetery Vision Plan

 Like other long-range planning activities, a Cemetery Vision Plan gathers and presents information about a cemetery's history and current conditions, treatment recommendations, and  other goals and how to achieve them. Westcott Cemetery Association will be working with descendants and friends, the neighboring community, and various professionals to develop and implement the McDaniel Street Cemetery Vision Plan. Some of that work started in 2020, and we expect it will continue through 2025. Periodic status reports will be posted below, and you can also sign up for our email list to stay informed! 

December 5, 2022, is the final board meeting of this year for WCA. Lead consultant at McDoux Preservation, Steph McDougal, will present the Vision Plan for McDaniel Street Cemetery in our first face-to-face meeting since the pandemic started.  

December 8, 2021

Grave Markers and Potential Unmarked Graves

In November, technicians from Texas Cemetery Restoration Services visited the McDaniel Street Cemetery on two separate trips to first assess the condition of all extant grave markers and later investigate the possibility of unmarked graves using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). They identified 58 existing grave markers, 9 base stones where grave markers once stood, and 34 potential unmarked graves.  That data was captured using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and imported into a Geographic Information System (GIS) database. The resulting map of the cemetery is only one of the products of this part of the project. 

This information will be used in many ways. 

• The tree service will use it to determine a safe route for trucks to access  the cemetery to remove the wood from fallen and dead trees.
• The landscape architect will use it to plan amenities for the community, such  as a parking area, possible walking path, seating, lighting, interpretive  signage, etc.
• We will be able to safely install a permanent perimeter fence when the time comes, without have to worry about disturbing unmarked graves.
• We now know where to probe to see if grave markers have subsided under the surface of the ground; if found, they can be lifted and reset.

Texas Cemetery Restoration Services will be back in Spring 2022 to level, reset, and repair the 20 markers which will be most expensive to conserve. We look forward to continuing to work with them!

November 23, 2021

November has been busy for Westcott Cemetery Association and our professional partners! Here's what we've been up to:

• Mowing the grounds
• Mapping and conducting Ground Penetrating Radar
• Installing a temporary security fence

Thursday, April 21, 2022, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Iglesia Vision Global, 2828 McDaniel Street OR Saturday, April 23, 2022, 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the Cemetery - Neighborhood Outreach - we want to hear from the folks living within the borders of Jensen, Curry, Crosstimbers and Bostic about their ideas for improvements to Historic McDaniel Street Cemetery.

Saturday, March 19, 2022 9 a.m. - Noon - Volunteer Marker Cleaning Day