What: <\/strong>Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds 175th anniversary celebration<\/p>\n Where: <\/strong>600 West Arkansas Lane<\/p>\n When: <\/strong>11 a.m.-2 p.m. May 16<\/p>\n Parking: <\/strong>Visitors can park near the east side of the grounds or across the street at Marrow Bone Spring Park<\/p>\n The grounds house pieces of three cemeteries: The Mill Branch Cemetery, the Middleton Tate Johnson Family Cemetery and the Arlington Colored Cemetery. Burials on the grounds spanned from the 1850s to the 1950s.<\/p>\n Johnson was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the early settlement of Tarrant County<\/a>. At one point, Johnson owned more slaves than anyone in the county.<\/p>\n Johnson helped establish Fort Worth in 1849 after the Mexican-American War, and established a settlement named Johnson\u2019s Station to the east around his cotton plantation in 1848. Johnson\u2019s Station eventually became Arlington.<\/p>\n Johnson was buried in the state cemetery in 1866, but was eventually moved to the Mill Branch Cemetery in 1870.<\/p>\n At the turn of the century, the western side of the cemetery was the only place African Americans could buy burial plots in Arlington.<\/p>\n A member of the Ditto family<\/a>, one of the area\u2019s early settler families, owned the Arlington Colored Cemetery and was in charge of selling plots, said Bill Perdue, a board member of the Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds Corp., a group created to foster the renewal of the cemeteries.<\/p>\n The informal burial process led to a lack of information tracking, Perdue said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the owner sold the grave sites, he didn\u2019t record anything,\u201d Perdue said. \u201cHe just took the $20 and said, \u2018Have a nice day.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The cemeteries fell into disrepair after ceasing operations, Mills said.<\/p>\n Headstones were cracked or completely broken and strewn across the grounds, while people living nearby walked through the cemeteries to get to the nearby corner store.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just an overgrown field, and there were graves in the field,\u201d Perdue said.<\/p>\n Mills said Eulyssee Pointer, a local man whose parents, first wife and brother were buried in the cemetery, ignited her passion to restore the area.<\/p>\n She said Pointer, who died in 2016, was one of the first to raise concerns about cabins located on cemetery grounds, with graves directly under the homes. The cabins are some of the oldest structures in the city and were moved to the cemetery in the 1970s.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe came up here when he realized we were trying to do something out there, move the cabins, and we were going to move them before we realized that there were African American graves out there,\u201d Mills said. \u201cHe touched my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n The cabins were eventually moved to Knapp Heritage Park, and they began researching who was buried there using a list Pointer had compiled.<\/p>\n That led to further work at the grounds, including using ground-penetrating radars. Perdue said the research showed about 106 people buried on the land.<\/p>\n A decade ago, Perdue got involved through the Tarrant County Archaeological Society, now known as the North Texas Archaeological Society.<\/p>\n Perdue, who now chairs the Tarrant County Historical Commission, said much of the work to identify who was buried in the area was done by digging through records.<\/p>\n \u201cI did a ton of work doing things like death records, birth certificates, marriage certificates and census counts,\u201d Perdue said. \u201cWe found just all kinds of stuff and information.\u201d<\/p>\n The labor of rehabilitating the cemetery was one taken up by many, Mills said.<\/p>\n Alongside the North Texas Archaeological Society and other local groups, city and county representatives have also helped financially and with grounds upkeep.<\/p>\n Mills said it was amazing to see everyone step up and play their part.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes it easier to get everyone involved when they realize it\u2019s good and they\u2019re preserving history,\u201d Mills said.<\/p>\n In 2022, the Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds Corp. began looking at modern ways<\/a> to bring the stories of those buried to the public.<\/p>\n During walk-throughs, people will be able to choose between a self-guided tour or waiting for a representative from the corporation\u2019s board for a guided tour.<\/p>\n Around the graves stand scannable QR codes, curated with background on those buried.<\/p>\n Perdue will be one of the Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds Corp.\u2019s representatives giving grounds tours on May 16.<\/p>\n The event will not be formal, but he hopes people will have the chance to explore the unique stories of those buried on the grounds, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese people were all the foundation of what the city is,\u201d Perdue said.<\/p>\n Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0505-ArlingtonCemetery-MC-05-1024x683.jpg\")
Middleton Tate Johnson\u2019s grave sits in the Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds on May 5, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0429-AmericanHeritageMemorialGrounds-MC-03-1024x683.jpg\")
A photo of Eulyssee Pointer, left, sits on a table in the Fielder House Museum in Arlington on April 29, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/Catchlight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0429-AmericanHeritageMemorialGrounds-MC-01-1024x683.jpg\")
A book filled with names of those thought to be buried in the Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds sits open in the Fielder House Museum in Arlington on April 29, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/Catchlight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0505-ArlingtonCemetery-MC-03-1024x683.jpg\")
Bill Perdue, the chair of the Tarrant County Historical Commission, walks through the Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds on May 5, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0429-AmericanHeritageMemorialGrounds-MC-05-1024x683.jpg\")
Geraldine Mills, the executive director of the Arlington Historical Society, poses in the Fielder House Museum on April 29, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/Catchlight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n