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Article Title
Archeological Investigations At The Old Pecos Cemetery (41RV127), Reeves County, Texas
Agency
Texas Historical Commission
Abstract
This report summarizes the results of archeological and historical investigations for the Old Pecos Cemetery in Pecos City, Reeves County, Texas. Colgate Energy plans to purchase the area around the cemetery and construct oil and gas facilities on that property. The Old Pecos Cemetery contains graves interred from 1881 to around 1910. It occupies an area of about 0.33 acres and is known to contain many unmarked burials. Colgate Energy hired AmaTerra in August 2017 to investigate outside the fenced limits of the cemetery, to determine whether any unmarked graves are located outside it, and if so, determine the extent of the graves so that they can be avoided.
The land is currently owned by Reeves County, a political subdivision of the State of Texas. Therefore, an Antiquities Permit was required under the Antiquities Code of Texas. Work was conducted under Permit No. 8138 and consisted of visual inspection, mechanical scraping using a road grader, and archival research. The survey documented 51 unmarked grave shafts and 10 surface features that likely represent graves within an area encompassing approximately 4.2 acres. AmaTerra documented the expanded cemetery as site 41RV127, and has recorded the new boundary at the Reeves County Clerk’s Office, as required under Chapter 711.011 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. This report recommends that the cemetery 41RV127 is of undetermined eligibility as a State Antiquities Landmark; and further recommends fencing the new cemetery boundary to avoid impacts to marked and unmarked graves within it. No artifacts were collected during the survey, but all notes and records from field investigation will be curated the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University in San Marcos.
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