Anybody who owns a burial plot at Arlington Cemetery has until Aug. 31 to make sure it isn’t sold to somebody else.
The deadline comes as the city gets ready to return the cemetery to full operations. The city council voted unanimously to approve new rules necessary to reopen.
Some of the city’s most influential historical family names are found in Arlington Cemetery, like Collins (the family that drilled a once-famous mineral well) and Ditto (the first administrator of Arlington Memorial Hospital). Now, after three decades in legal limbo, the city will start selling new plots soon.
The city council unanimously gave the go-ahead for a new ordinance governing how the cemetery is run. It covers things like maintenance, management, funding and sale of plots.
Before Arlington could begin operating the cemetery in earnest, the ordinance also creates a deadline for claiming plots already purchased.
When the city took ownership of the property in 1995, invoking Chapter 713 of the Texas Health and Safety code, state law prohibited new Arlington Cemetery plot sales. That’s because, despite the city’s takeover of the property, the law considered it abandoned.
That law was changed in 2023 after state and Arlington leaders heard from living notable figures who would like to be buried in Arlington Cemetery, meaning the city can now sell new plots in the cemetery.
Around 20 people are already on the waitlist to buy a plot at Arlington Cemetery when sales open sometime in September. First, the city has to make sure it knows which plots have already been purchased.
Many records were lost between the city’s initial takeover of the cemetery in 1995 and today. Sarah Stubblefield, the strategic initiatives manager for the city, said records were managed by another group during that time.
Since some records were lost, Stubblefield said that plot owners may have to provide proof that they own it.
If the plot owner doesn’t have that documentation they should reach out to the city, Stubblefield told KERA News in an email.
“If the family doesn’t have any documentation, we will make our best effort to identify reasonable evidence for claims to plots,” Stubblefield said.
The city may have documentation of purchases or lineage that can help make sure plots aren’t resold, she said.
If someone tries to claim a plot after the council votes to declare it abandoned, the city’s new ordinance says the city will do its best to find an alternative plot for that person or family.
While the city has some documentation, Stubblefield said in the email that she isn’t sure how many people will claim plots. Prices for new plots will be set after the city council hires a cemetery operations manager.
The city has been getting ready for the changes since the law was changed, like restoring less tended parts of the cemetery, mapping the cemetery, using ground-penetrating radar to detect burial sites between headstones.
Now, nearing the finish line, the last steps before selling plots will be finding owners of existing plots and finding a cemetery operator.
Got a tip? Email James Hartley at jhartley@kera.org. You can follow James on X @ByJamesHartley.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
