Anybody who owns a burial plot at has until Aug. 31 to make sure it isn鈥檛 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鈥檚 most influential historical family names are found in Arlington Cemetery, like Collins (the family that drilled a ) 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鈥檚 because, despite the city鈥檚 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 October. First, the city has to make sure it knows which plots have already been purchased.
Many records were lost between the city鈥檚 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鈥檛 have that documentation they should reach out to the city, Stubblefield told 四虎影院 in an email.
鈥淚f the family doesn鈥檛 have any documentation, we will make our best effort to identify reasonable evidence for claims to plots,鈥� Stubblefield said.
The city may have documentation of purchases or lineage that can help make sure plots aren鈥檛 resold, she said.
If someone tries to claim a plot after the council votes to declare it abandoned, the city鈥檚 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鈥檛 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.
Editor's note: this story has been updated to indicate new plots will be available for sale in October. The headline has been updated for clarity.
Got a tip? Email James Hartley at jhartley@kera.org. You can follow James on X @ByJamesHartley.
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