Hudson Oaks, TX – Early on a recent Saturday morning, more than two dozen members of Scout Troop 75, under the direction of Evie Banis, gathered at Dawson-Hackett Cemetery. Banis, a student at Aledo High School, had chosen a project at this cemetery to earn her Eagle Scout badge. It was a multifaceted project that included heavy brush and tree trimming, digging out and discarding large amounts of yucca and cactus, placing crosses at gravesites, erecting a kiosk, and installing a stepped seating area halfway up a bluff overlooking the cemetery.
All this took planning. Banis visited the site several times to determine the scope of the project, assembled a list of materials (including lunch), tools and personnel, obtained funding, and then submitted the plan to a review board. Once the board approved the plan, she began implementing it by first visiting Lowes, which kindly arranged for some preferential pricing of the materials.
Banis provided leadership throughout the day, assigning tasks as workload requirements shifted. By mid-afternoon, the project was completed much to the satisfaction of all.
The Abandoned Cemetery Association of Parker County issued a statement that it “greatly appreciates Ms. Banis choosing this project to preserve and enhance this historic Black cemetery. The ACA has no doubt she will obtain her Eagle Scout badge for her meticulous planning and commitment. She will be the third young lady in Parker County to earn this distinction.”
George Dawson (1842-1913) set aside the land for this cemetery in 1906. His wife, Lucy (1847-1905), had died the year before and had been buried there. Other burials probably pre-date 1906. So far as is known, there are at least 21 burials.
The Dawson’s farmed a couple hundred acres in this area, raising their 13 children here. It was at the behest of two of their descendants who suggested a seating area for rest and contemplation of the significant challenges their forebears surmounted.
A previous Eagle Scout project built a fence around the cemetery.
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