Sam Cantey IV, 84, remembers visiting the Pioneers Rest Cemetery for the first time while on a sixth grade field trip and feeling an instant pull to the historic place.
The cemetery stands as Fort Worth鈥檚 oldest burial ground, containing the graves of the city鈥檚 founders and some early settlers.
Cantey and his classmates spent most of the visit running across the cemetery looking through the gravestones, he said.
鈥淥ne of my classmates said 鈥楽top, stop you鈥檙e walking on my ancestors,鈥欌�� he recalled with a chuckle.
That memory stuck with Cantey for over seven decades and serves as a foundation for why he鈥檚 found his way back to Pioneers Rest as one of several volunteers leading revitalization efforts at the 175-year-old cemetery.
For Melanie Smith, president of the cemetery鈥檚 association, it鈥檚 important to keep the historic place alive as Fort Worth continues to grow, especially after the .
鈥淲e have to look back where we came from to know where we鈥檙e going,鈥� she said.
Reminder of city鈥檚 past
Pioneers Rest is nearly as old as the military outpost of Fort Worth itself.
In 1850, Dr. Fran莽ois Ignace Gouhenant donated about 3 acres of land to Maj. Ripley Allen Arnold 鈥� the city鈥檚 founder 鈥� as a burial site for his two deceased children, Sophie and Willis.
Eleven soldiers from the Fort were also buried at the site around the same time, according to a Texas Historical Commission marker inside the cemetery鈥檚 main gates.
As the city grew, the cemetery became the final resting place for many of its early settlers, including Arnold and the county鈥檚 namesake Gen. Edward H. Tarrant, who was a former commander of troops at Fort Worth.
The cemetery gained another roughly 3 acres in 1871.
Pioneers Rest now encompasses approximately 7 acres, which are bounded by a set of railroad tracks toward the back of the burial grounds and apartment buildings and townhomes near its entrance on Samuels Avenue. Interments at this site are no longer frequent.
In early 2021, some burial descendants noticed the neglected grounds had become overwhelmed with tall grass, overgrown trees and deteriorating infrastructure.
Smith stepped up to lead the Pioneers Rest Cemetery Association with a mission of making it a prime destination for North Texas community members and anyone interested in learning about early settlers.
鈥淭here had been members who really thought the best thing for the cemetery was to fly under the radar and not bring any attention, but there were several of us who were able to come in and change that,鈥� said Smith, who has several relatives buried on the site.
One volunteer, Teresa Wilson, oversees efforts to digitize the cemetery鈥檚 records. Others, like Todd and Marcia Norris, live in a townhome across the street and serve as the site鈥檚 guardians to ensure no one vandalizes the property.
By August 2023, the group in Pioneers Rest to provide visitors with biographies and photographs of the people buried there. The project was supported by a $2,000 grant from the Tarrant County Historical Society.
鈥淚t makes a cemetery a much more human place,鈥� archivist and volunteer Shelley Gayler-Smith previously said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just some spooky place that you should never go into. It鈥檚 a place that is very human.鈥�
The following year, Fort Worth council members to the group as part of a $153,000 project to restore the cemetery鈥檚 front gate and preserve The Sexton鈥檚 Cottage built around 1920.
Still, the Pioneers Rest Cemetery Association knows there is more work to be done to return the site to its former glory.
Restoring more of the site
The association is in the midst of fundraising to replace several broken headstones and repair broken fencing throughout the burial grounds. Restoring those can be a challenge as some families step away from financially supporting the gravestone of a relative they don鈥檛 know, said Smith.
鈥淵ou have third great-grandparents that are so far removed in generations that families have quit telling their children about tending the graves,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to get those families to feel compelled to donate.鈥�
Volunteers also hope to secure funds to complete a full ground penetrating radar survey to help them fill in the blanks in their records. A survey of the entire 7 acres would be around $8,000, said Smith.
Some burial sites may extend beyond the site鈥檚 current borders with other unmarked graves yet to be discovered, said cemetery volunteer Cecelia Rollins Van Donselaar.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no telling what all we would find,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t would give us a more accurate picture of other artifacts.鈥�
Interested in donating to the Pioneers Rest Cemetery Association?
You can support revitalization efforts through the following methods:
- Zelle: 817-332-8515
- Venmo: @PioneersRestCemetery
Mail a check to: Pioneers Rest Cemetery Association
PO Box 100294
Fort Worth, TX 76185
Despite the list of projects left to complete, Smith and members of the cemetery鈥檚 association are proud of the progress they鈥檝e made. They frequently see people either stop to take a look at the historic markers or take strolls through the grounds.
鈥淎 lot of people are really interested in the cemetery, because it鈥檚 visible and we鈥檙e visible,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a major difference from several years back.鈥�
It鈥檚 important because, who knows: The next child who visits the cemetery might walk away with a deeper understanding of Fort Worth鈥檚 early settlers 鈥� the same way Cantey did all those years ago.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or .
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