Omega Psi Phi, Pilgrim Branch Church & others cleanup Faulkey Gully Cemetery - 27 June, 2009
What a beautiful site!!! Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Project RESPECT, Inc., members of the Pilgrim Branch Church, descendants of those buried at the cemetery and other volunteers who came together at the Faulkey Gulley Cemetery in West Harris County off FM 249 and Jones Road on June 27th to show that saving our cultural heritage and history is a priority. The only thing missing in this group picture of the work is Pastor Pickens sweatin' in blue jeans, cutting with his Weedeater'
We have many, many more inspiring photos of all the good people that came together on Saturday with hard work, kind words, and determination to save the Faulkey Gulley Cemetery. Our fore fathers and mothers would be proud of all of us for this commitment. The marker we found of someone born in 1813 makes all of our work even more important. That soul served many years of slavery and suffered the hardships of life. That is just one of many reasons why we must do this work.
W. W. Jones, II Project RESPECT, Inc.
30 June, 2009
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Update on the Geocache at Faulkey Gully
Four years ago, in the hopes of raising community awareness, I hid a small watertight container outside Faulkey Gully Cemetery and posted the GPS coordinates to Geocaching.com. Inside the container was a logbook for people to sign as a sort of "guest book". I also made and included some information cards that visitors could take with them. These cards explained what little I knew about the cemetery and asked those that visited to do what they could to ensure that the area stayed clean and litter-free.
The container has since disappeared, and I've been notified by Geocaching.com that I need to replace it in order to keep the cache "active" (linked on their website and "findable" by others).
My main purpose behind placing the container (cache) four years ago was to alert as many people as possible to the existence of the cemetery. Now, thanks to Project Respect, many people are not only aware of it, but are regularly making the effort to preserve and maintain it. While a replacement cache would continue to attract visitors to the site, there may no longer be a need or desire for it. Also, since the area was overgrown at the time, there were many places outside the cemetery in which to hide such a container. That, fortunately, may not be the case anymore.
Geocachers (or, people that participate in this hobby, myself included) primarily place caches near or at sites of great significance to them. Faulkey Gully Cemetery is significant to me because I lived nearby when I was growing up. My father came upon it back in the mid-70s while walking in the woods behind our house. Since first hearing of it many years ago, the cemetery has had a very special place in my heart. I do not, however, have relatives or other loved ones buried there. For that reason, I would like to make sure before I replace the cache that this is acceptable to everyone connected with the cemetery.
The name of the original cache was "Faulkey Gully's Forgotten Freedmen". Given that the cemetery is now being lovingly cared for by the members of Project Respect, I would like to place a new container near the cemetery on the day of the next cleanup, perhaps calling it "Faulkey Gully's Found Freedman" or something similar. The size, location, and contents of the cache (if allowed) would be subject to the approval of everyone involved.
Please email me at wowieann@gmail.com with any questions or thoughts you may have on the subject.
Faulkey Gully Cemetery Area Geocache
I searched for "Faulkey Gulley Cemetery" online tonight and joined Project Respect as a result of what I found. I am delighted to read that this little cemetery, which has long been in my thoughts, is being taken care of. I hope that you will let me know the next time clean-up is needed so I can be of assistance.
A little over four years ago I waymarked the location of Faulkey Gulley Cemetery using a GPS (Global Positioning) unit and posted the coordinates to Geocaching.com in hopes of increasing community awareness of the site. Because virtual Geocaches (Geocaches that do not have a physical container) were no longer permitted to be registered, I hid a small container containing a logbook and takeaway cards with information about the site inside. In the years since, many Geocachers have made the trip out to Faulkey Gulley to pay their respects.
What follows is the original description of the cache from when it was placed in March 2006, which can be found at Geocaching.com (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=78a1af90-bc58-43c...)
Faulkey Gully's Forgotten Freedmen
I placed this cache near a site that I’d like to increase community awareness of - the burial site of a community of black freedmen that settled in the area shortly after the Civil War. This tiny cemetery is located, oddly enough, in the middle of the suburban neighborhood in which I grew up. Few people know it exists. Until recently, it had been almost completely reclaimed by nature and was often the target of vandals. A grand attempt at restoration was made in 2003-2004, and (thanks to the efforts of many volunteers) over the course of several weeks it went from being an entangled jungle with a few barely visible, broken, and overturned headstones to a dignified resting place for the people buried there. I first visited it after becoming aware of its existence about a year ago. On a return visit last week, I found that the conditions of the cemetery and surrounding area had deteriorated greatly in that short time. I took pictures on both visits and would be delighted to share them with anyone that is interested.
After placing the cache, I wrote a detailed account of my visits to the cemetery, and the way in which I first came to hear about it. I’d be happy to share that as well, but thought it a bit lengthy to post here. It is my hope that the more people know about the cemetery, the better chance it has of being protected and maintained. At very least, I hope that fellow geocachers practicing “cache in, trash out” will help keep the area litter-free.
Searching for “Faulkey Gully Cemetery” on the web will provide you with several links containing more information about the cemetery. Among them is a site that chronicles its restoration in great detail, complete with before and after pictures. Please feel free to contact me for the link to this website, or to read my account of, and/or see the pictures I took on my recent visits.
This cache is housed in a small, plastic, rectangular container covered with camouflage tape. Inside are several small trade items, a log book and a “special” prize for the FTF. If you are the first to find the cache, please don't feel as if you have to leave anything in exchange for the FTF prize - you've earned it. If you'd like to take/leave something in addition to that, please feel free to do so.
I hope you’ll enjoy the hunt, the cache, and your visit to this little-known historical site!
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Again, I am so glad to know that the cemetery is being maintained. The last time I was at the site (2008) it was quite overgrown, and it saddened me that I (as one person) couldn't do much about it.
Respectfully,
Valerie Taylor