#tapophilia cemetery gravestone history austin austintexas teodarjackson burditt burdett negroschool desegregation

[remainstobeseencemeteries]

Burdett’s Prairie Cemetery

(aka Burditt Prairie Cemetery, Montopolis Cemetery)

Visited today, this Austin (TX) cemetery is very underwhelming. It is overgrown and blighted by illegally dumped garbage. Also, because of the soil, many of the markers are tipped over, if not missing altogether. However, with just a little bit of historical background, this cemetery becomes one of the more interesting places within greater Austin

Burdett Prairie Cemetery is located in Montopolis. There were two parts of town settled and referred to as “Montopolis” – one north of the river, and one south. The settlement on the north side of the river is older; however, contemporary residents will today refer to the south-side settlement as “Montopolis.” Contemporary Montopolis is considered to be a part of Austin, but the original was once its own town, pre-dating the cities of Waterloo and of Austin, and, once seriously considered for the capital of the Republic of Texas.

Those buried in this cemetery were one-time slaves from the Burditt Plantation. After the Civil War, Jesse Burditt deeded this portion of land to be a freedman’s burial ground for his former slaves. In fact, the entire south-side-of-the-river “Montopolis” became a freedmen community – one of 15 such communities outside of Austin in the 1860s. These communities remained independent communities until 1928, when the City of Austin enacted a master plan that encouraged black citizens to move back into town, though in a single, segregated area.

The Burditt family are among the earliest Anglo settlers in Travis County. After having served in the Battle of San Jacinto, Jesse Burditt ran the cotton plantation; his son (Jesse Jr.) married Sarah Hornsby, the daughter of Reuben Hornsby, one of Stephen F. Austin’s earliest colonists; the Burditt’s settled just across the river from Hornsby’s land, known as Hornsby Bend.

Burdett Prairie Cemetery is the resting place for nearly 200 graves – most of which are post-1950s. In the 1950s, the Montopolis area was known as “poverty island.” Austin continued to grow segregated by geography – with most everything east of I-35 being dominated by people of color and/or the poor, as compared to the white-dominated downtown and western areas.

Among those buried here is Teodar Jackson, a blues recording artist (fiddle) who played with Mance Lipscomb and others. Teodar was an African-American blues musician in Texas during segregation and had never played for white audiences, until he was recorded by a UT folklorist named Tary Owens.

 Teodar has connections to other famous Austin musicians, largely through his collaborations with Tary Owens. In fact, when Jackson became sick, Owens organized a fund-raiser for his medical bills; the fundraiser featured Janis Joplin, 13th Floor Elevators, Mance Lipscomb, Ken Threadgill, and others.

 Austin began annexing Montopolis in the early 1950s – a trend that continues today, as evidenced by the glaring mix of gentrified condos (priced at over $250K) taking up the views of those long-term residents in shotgun houses who will likely be soon priced out of their homes due to increased property taxes.

 One sign of the battle around gentrification is the increased attention paid to a structure nearby the cemetery – the former “Montopolis Negro School.” Founded in 1891 in another location, the original structure was destroyed by a storm in 1935, leading to its relocation in Montopolis later that same year (1935). The building is a repurposed army barrack from the former Camp Swift. The building functioned as a school for African American students until 1962, when desegregation allowed the students to join other schools within the metropolitan area; it is one of 42 structures with such a designation in Travis Country, though I am unclear of how many still stand.

The structure stands today, though it was recently purchased by a developer who also holds a demolition permit for the property. Development plans indicate that the current owner had planned to raze the building in order to add 15 single-family homes on the lot; community activists have slowed this effort while also raising awareness of the significance of the structure. Its fate remains uncertain; the lot is staked as if for development, but the owner has stated publicly that his plans for build the houses are on hold now that he is aware of the significance of the structure.

Primary:

http://www.austintxgensoc.org/cemeteries/burdett-prairie-cemetery/

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fow14

http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.special.southern-20--20-plantations/322.1/mb.ashx

http://patch.com/texas/southaustin/community-activists-demand-preservation-structure-once-housing-montopolis-negro

http://abc27.com/2016/12/03/historic-montopolis-negro-school-faces-demolition/

http://www.mystatesman.com/lifestyles/montopolis-tale-two-towns/3VjlILpuKXrdUGTDBb09VJ/

http://www.mystatesman.com/entertainment/studying-rural-african-american-schools-travis-county/i8mFhFWCdSae07HUAkFstM/

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2016-01-08/we-re-still-here/

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth254216/m1/19/

http://www.austintxgensoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2004.3.pdf

 Other:

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2WYRQ_texas-spirit-quest-47-burdett-prairie-cemetery?guid=855ae89c-cd96-4f6f-b24b-43fd96ef8ee1

https://books.google.com/books/about/And_Grace_Will_Lead_Me_Home.html?id=1cNfyy2btpQC

http://kut.org/post/some-fight-preserve-east-austin-history-extends-underground

Teodar Jackson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCOwoz91FBM

https://soundcloud.com/mark-rubin/blues-come-to-texas

http://www.texaspsychedelicrock.com/2012/08/13thFloorElevators.html