Located at 391-405 S. Houston Ave., Humble, the Humble Cemetery is believed to be the town's oldest with the earliest documented burial taking place sometime between 1867-79, according a Texas Historical Commission marker, which was awarded to the cemetery in 1992. Owned by the city of Humble, the cemetery is the final resting place for several Civil War and World War I military veterans with many of the headstones having fallen over time.
In 2017, the Humble-based James Tull Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, took on the Humble Cemetery as its historic preservation project.
"Probably 90% of the cemetery, if not more, needs something [done]," Historic Preservation Chair Connie Grubbs said. "I've had a few [headstones] fall since we started this in 2017, but because they're too big, I can't do anything about it."
In 2018, Grubbs said she received a quote that it would cost $50,000 for a company to professionally reset, clean and level the entire cemetery.
"It's an extremely expensive job," she said. "I was shocked with I got the estimate—it about knocked me out of my chair; I had no earthly idea it would cost that much."
Despite obstacles such as Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Grubbs said the organization has since done what work it physically can by resetting 23 of the smaller headstones and cleaning each of the 300-400 headstones in the cemetery at least twice. However, for some of the bigger headstones, Grubbs said she knew a professional was needed.
"We started talking to [Mayor Norman Funderburk], and he agrees and wants to fix [the cemetery] too, and so we're kind of working hand-and-hand on doing it now," Grubbs said.
At its March 10 meeting, the Humble City Council unanimously approved a general services agreement with Texas Cemetery Restoration LLC for the restoration, repair and leveling of 34 monuments at the Humble Cemetery in the amount of $9,939.75. Grubbs said she selected the monuments that were in most need of repair to be included in this first batch.
"Thank you very much; I appreciate it," Grubbs said following the approval of the general services agreement. "There's even more work; I mean that's just a drop in the bucket of what we still need to do, so we do want to continue working with y'all."
According to Funderburk, of the 34 selected monuments, 13 belong to military veterans, including five who fought in the Civil War—both Union and Confederate soldiers—and eight who fought during World War I, including two who were killed in action in France.
"We're thankful that together, all of us, we can be good stewards of this cemetery, and it's worthwhile," Funderburk said during the March 10 meeting. "We talk so much about how fortunate we are to have the rich history that we have in our community, and so much of that is embodied right here in the cemetery."
