A grave in the middle of the street? What in the world, was my first thought when coming across this. Y’all know I love odd, unique, and old sites. This one fits all three. The grave of Hollie Tatnell remains in what is now the middle of Wheelock Street in Hearne, Texas.
Hollie Tatnell was born in 1859 as a slave, Hollie Tatnell died in 1911 as a free woman.
The place she is laid to rest was once a cemetery for slaves eventually becoming the African American Cemetery once slavery was abolished and closed for good in 1912.
In 1947, real estate developers purchased the land that the cemetery was on and the bodies in the cemetery had to be exhumed and reinterred elsewhere to allow for development of the area.
One family, however, refused to budge. Hollie Tatnell’s children Andrew and Georgia refused to move their mother as they wanted her to remain at rest where she was, close to where she grew up.
The developer’s eventually agreed to leave her at rest and build the road around her by encasing her grave in a median in the middle of the street.
In 2007, the Texas Historical Commission declared the lone grave a Historic Texas Cemetery and placed a marker next to it. It reads: “This cemetery, now represented by a single grave, was a burial site for African American residents in the area. According to folklore, it originated as a farm or slave cemetery. The earliest known burial here dated 1879, and residents used the graveyard until 1912. In 1947, developers purchased this property; descendants of the interred were forced to move and rebury relatives. However, the children of Hollie Tatnell (d. 1911), a former slave, refused to reinter their mother, forcing developers to build around her grave. Today, this single grave serves as a reminder of the area’s early African American community and of the sanctity of burial grounds.”
GETTING TO HOLLIE TATNELL’s GRAVE & TIPS
Address: Near 529 Wheelock Street, Hearne, Texas (middle of the street)
There is NO parking other than along the side of the street past the grave. This is a residential street and plenty of traffic. So keep that in mind!
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Wow … what an incredible story! Thank you so much for sharing!
Interesting story, it’s a shame that the builder’s made others disturb their loved ones resting place. They should have left the cemetery alone.
I agree! Why not just build the subdivision around the cemetery as a lot of builders do?!? The fact that cemeteries can even be sold baffles me even more!
It was, sadly, the 1940s. African Americans weren’t valued as they should’ve been, and the Caucasians wanted to build homes for the doctors and staff of Hearne General Hospital. I don’t think the hospital is even open these days. They sold the land by an eminent domain sale, most likely for a small amount. The developers didn’t realize Holly Tatnell Hunter (Curtis) son was a wealthy prominent medical doctor, and her daughter educated and married well to a man in Washington DC. I’m proud they stood up for their rights. Mrs Tatnell was unique and shouldn’t have been moved, nor should any of the sweet souls.
Holly’s story is more than just a grave in the middle of the road in Hearne, Texas. She wasn’t born in Texas. I have her complete biography. She was a wonderful mother, and her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were all successful.
When I was a young child I used to leave flowers on her grave.
Hollie’s grave is about a half block up the street, and a bit left of our home. While in the overall scheme of things, it’s nothing special or impressive, it is an important piece of Texas’ and of Hearne’s history. If you’re in the area, stop by and check it out. It takes less than two minutes to get there from State highway 6.