East Fort Worth's Boy Scout Troop Restoration Of Harrison Cemetery

Way back in August of 2013 I blogged about an abandoned cemetery in East Fort Worth.

At that point in time the cemetery was an overgrown jungle, yet it had a Texas State Historical Marker near the side of the road, which is what caused me to stop to see what was being marked.

When I read the historical marker I was surprised to learn this overgrown cemetery was the final resting place for a local notable, J.C. Randol, he of Randol Mill fame.

Anyone who drives anywhere in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone has found oneself driving on Randol Mill Road at some point in time. For me it is pretty much anytime I drive anywhere.

A couple days ago someone named Anonymous commented on that blog post from way back in 2013.....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Today I Found East Fort Worth's Abandoned Harrison Cemetery":

A local Boy Scout troop cleaned the cemetery in 2014 and again in October 2015. You might want to drop by again...

I did as Anonymous suggested and dropped by the Harrison Cemetery again.

Well.

That Boy Scout Troop deserves a medal or two or some special accolade.

Harrison Cemetery has been restored. That is how I found, above, the obelisk marking the grave of J.C. Randol.

Below is the aforementioned Texas State Historical Marker. Now you can see the cemetery behind it. Go to the original Today I Found East Fort Worth's Abandoned Harrison Cemetery blog post and see what this looked like two years ago.

What motivated this Boy Scout Troop to do this good deed? Methinks some sort of reward is warranted.

Did the Fort Worth Star-Telegram have an article about the restoration of this East Fort Worth cemetery? If not, why not?

Today I Found East Fort Worth's Abandoned Harrison Cemetery

For years I have driven by the obscured by brush Texas Historical Marker you see in the picture.

This Texas Historical Marker is located near where Meadowbrook Drive intersects with Meadowbrook Boulevard in far East Fort Worth.

As I've driven by this overgrown Texas Historical Marker, dozens of times I've told myself that one day I need to stop and see what it is that is being historically marked with a Texas Historical Marker at this location.

Today was finally the day I got around to seeing what was being marked here.

I wondered if it might be one of the ubiquitous Bonnie & Clyde crime spree locations. Or something equally nefarious, figuring that this Texas Historical Marker must mark something notorious, hence its overgrown, uncared for state.

It was a bit of a damp challenge to get up close enough to read the Texas Historical Marker to learn it had nothing to do with Bonnie & Clyde, but instead was marking a cemetery.

Harrison Cemetery to be precise.

The information on the marker describing Harrison Cemetery....

When first used, this one-acre cemetery belonged to Tarrant County pioneer D.C. Harrison. The earliest known grave is that of Mary E. Harrison (1864-71). Several early settlers used this site, including R.A. Randol (1850-1922), the operator of Randol Mill, who bought this tract in 1895 and deeded it forever as a burial ground. Graves here number about sixty and include those of the Edward Deason family, Randol's first wife Ronda(Harrison) (1859-82). His brother John C. Randol, who died in an 1894 mill accident, and his wife Nancy Cannon Harrision (1833-83), mother of Ronda Harrison Randol.

Randol is a rather well known name in this part of the country. A section of Randol Mill Road, it being a road which seems to run all over Tarrant County, is near Harrison Cemetery.

Why has this cemetery fallen into such a shameful state of being untended and overgrown with jungle-like foliage?

Seems odd that this cemetery would warrant a Texas Historical Marker, but not warrant being cared for.

Very perplexing....