In 2003, Ms. Sandra L. Meserve and Project Respect worked with the people of Wallis to save the Hillside Cemetery. The Cemetery was being threatened by a plan to build a reservoir in the area. We spent many months working at the Gonzales Public Cemetery in Gonzales, Texas.
That work resulted in the recognition that the Gonzales Public Cemetery existed in 1834. We then brought this historic cemetery to the public's attention, mapped, documented, and applied for a Designation and Historical Marker from the Texas Historical Commission. Due to the lack of some specific boundary survey data, it has taken years to get the Designation, but finally the Texas Historical Commission has awarded the Designation and we will purchase the Historical Marker in October, 2009 during the period of Application for Markers as set forth by the THC.
Here is the documentation received from the Texas Historical Commission:
This is only one of several very important projects that need to be completed in the near future as more resources and people become involved in our struggle to save these monument of history. The cemetery and community history project in San Felipe, Texas is also very important. The San Felipe project need to be funded as research, mapping,
The Wallis community is planning a dedication service and celebrations at local churches and at the Hillside Cemetery Grounds in the near future. We will keep everyone posted as the scheduling information becomes available to us. A summary of the hillside effort is posted on the Project RESPECT Web Site.
W. W. Jones, II Project RESPECT, Inc.