Almost-Forgotten Cemetery Gets some TLC

The nearly-forgotten Mt. Olive Methodist Cemetery restoration is bittersweet. It’s beautiful how something so important is being restored, but what doesn't make sense is why the cemetery has yet to be recognized by the state of Texas with a historical marker, and why a place with so much historical importance was forgotten in the first place.

When Kathy Kubicek watched the movie “We Were Soldiers,” she noticed a name in the end credits. Donnel Philips, a war veteran from Smithville, was listed. She and her husband wanted to find out where Donnel was buried to pay respects. When they arrived at the cemetery they were shocked to find out that not only was there no road leading to the cemetery, but that they also had to crawl through brush to find Donnells’ grave.

Understandably concerned, Mrs Kubicek contacted KXAN News Austin to get the word out about the cemetery containing so much history, and hopefully begin a restoration effort. Steven Simmons saw the news report and quickly contacted Mrs. Kubicek about beginning the restoration. After further exploring the cemetery, Simmons quickly realized the number of war veterans buried there. Reconstruction began in October of 2023, and is a continuing effort. The main focus now is clearing out the wooded areas, a project which according to Steve Simmons is about 90% done. The work done at the cemetery is completely volunteer driven, with the Knights of Columbus in Bastrop along with the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rockne providing volunteers.

But why did the cemetery fall into such disrepair in the first place? The Mt. Olive Cemetery was originally affiliated with Mt. Olive Methodist Church, which in the 1860s was a historically black church. The cemetery was established in 1862, and its last plot was made in the 1960s. But the most recent burial was three years ago, in 2021, which illustrates why the cemetery needs to be restored. There are several families with relatives buried there who deserve to be able to pay respects without having to crawl through brush and walk across a ditch to do so. The cemetery deserves respect, and so do the people buried there.

The restoration efforts are all being funded with money being raised by both volunteers and the VFW Posts that are working with them. If you would like to help towards the cemetery's completed restoration, call the Ernest Bartsch Memorial VFW at (512) 3212610.