The Hockley-Clay Cemetery Cultural Heritage District

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Archeological Report prepared by Clinton M. M. McKenzie for SAAACAM

Map

History

Jane Warren (b.1825 in Alabama) was a former slave, and matriarch of the Hockley-Freeman- Clay family. She received the deed to the first fifty seven acres of her land in 1873, and later dedicated 1.26 acres “…to be used as a burying ground and graveyard and a road leading to same…” Records verify burials as early as 1908. A number of other black families joined the Hockleys in buying and occupying land in the area. By 1900 the U.S. Census rolls recorded more than one hundred blacks near Jane Warren’s property and the Cibolo Creek to the north. The dedication of land by black citizens for two “colored schools”, two “colored churches”, and three cemeteries, formed the civic core of an extended rural black enclave. Members of the Ellis Griffin family, to the south, and the Dan Winters family, to the north, intermarried into the Hockley family. Members of the Demp Clay family, from the Floresville area, also married into the extended family. The enclave is one example of at least twelve black settlements in Bexar County that originated more than one hundred years ago. The cemetery remains as one of the last original components of a 19th century historic black settlement currently within the San Antonio city limits. This type of cultural resource is extremely rare in a major Texas or American city. The Hockley heirs sold most of the land in 1975, except for the cemetery. Easter Jane Hock-ley Clay (1880 - 1982) resided on the property until its sale in 1975. Burials continued into the 1970’s. In 1980 the Lloyd A. Denton company filed a plat for subdivision of Northern Hills Unit 13 into residential lots north of Uhr Lane. The plat specifically labeled the old Hockley property and easement access as “cemetery”, and arranged the new residential lots around the original cemetery boundary and access.

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Acknowledgements

The following partners and stakeholders made this project possible:

American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions

City of San Antonio Council Districts 1 and 2

City of San Antonio Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Department

Equality Texas

Esperanza Peace and Justice Center

Happy Foundation Archives

Houston LGBTQ History

LGBTQ+ Advisory Board

Melissa Gohlke

Pride Center San Antonio

Pride San Antonio Inc.

San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce

The San Antonio Gender Association (SAGA)

Thrive Youth Center

UTSA Libraries and Museums

William R. Sinkin Eco Centro

Thank you to the community members that came to the meetings and shared their stories. This report would not be possible without all the people who live, work, shop, eat, dance, study, and organize within the PCHD.