Submerged
Tamina residents form nonprofit to restore submerged cemetery
A new nonprofit group is trying to save the now-submerged Sweet Rest Cemetery in Tamina.
Beneath ice, mud and at least a foot of water, the headstones of former slaves, Native Americans, veterans, law enforcement officials and original settlers of the Tamina community peeked through the surface of the nowsubmerged Sweet Rest Cemetery on Saturday morning.
“It literally brings tears to my eyes to see this condition in 2018 as if it was 1918,” said 52-year-old Tamina resident Elijah Easley as he waded through the cold, murky water and growth where his father, mother, maternal grandparents and great grandparents were laid to rest.
Easley’s family is among an estimated 261 buried in graves now covered in water.
The gravesites date back to 1870 and include those of Tamina’s founding fathers, such as Easley’s grandfather, Romie Hollins Sr., whose names can be found on street signs of the post-Civil War freedmen’s settlement. Tamina’s history can be traced back to R.B. Smith, an educator from the city of Montgomery; John Nilor, a Houston-area businessman and to 1871 when freed slaves who moved to the area helped build the railroad. Many past Tamina residents worked for Grogan’s mill, a part of Grogan Cochran Lumber Co.
For the past 10 years, the roughly 12-acre cemetery, which does not have an owner, has been left dormant and exposed to the elements without a caretaker aside from the occasional volunteers who try to help. Some of the graves are inaccessible due to the standing water and grassy growth, which Easley believes may be because the natural water flow has been blocked on various sides.
An effort to save the cemetery came to light after three siblings, descendants of an original Tamina settler, died in a house fire in May 2017. Terrance “TJ” Mitchell, 13, Kaila Mitchell, 6, and Kyle Mitchell, 5, were trapped in their room on their home’s second floor.
The children’s grandfather, Bobby Johnson Jr., was able to get most of the family, including Adrian, a fourth child, out of the home after breaking a second-floor window, family members said at the time. Johnson, his wife, Carrie, and their 34-year-old son, Jarvis Johnson, were all injured as they tried to rescue the three trapped children.
The Johnsons are descendants of an original settler of Tamina and lived on a road named for one of their ancestors.
The late Mitchell children have several family members buried in Sweet Rest Cemetery. Due to the poor conditions of the cemetery, however, no one has been laid to rest there for nearly a decade.
Easley is the board chairman of a new nonprofit called the Tamina Cemetery Project Community Development Corp., which includes other relatives of the Mitchell children on the board. The corporation is comprised of descendants from Tamina’s forefathers, churches, community members and others, including Georgia Carroll, chairwoman of Hundred Hands Alliance, an organization that advances community health and well-being.
“We have (descendants) of forefathers that are here in this community some 90, almost 100 years old that would have a desire to be buried here, but they can’t be because of these current conditions,” Easley said. “If we can get that corrected, I have an uncle (Romie Hollins Jr.) who’s 88 years old whose father is one of the founding fathers of this community, the Hollins family. I know if my uncle was given the opportunity, he would care to be buried there.”
The 501(c)3 nonprofit is on a mission to collaborate with elected officials, community leaders and others to fix the drainage issue.
“It’s about honoring our ancestors,” said board treasurer Victor Harris, 34. “It’s about honoring our legacy.”
Community leaders believe drainage and environmental issues are contributing to the flooded cemetery, which still has not recovered from the rainfall during Hurricane Harvey in late August.
“I don’t even know where Uncle Will is at,” said Vanesta Davis, 55, an advisory board member, as she pushed through mud. “It’s because they covered up the lake. The natural water flow has been disrupted.”
Easley and board members are asking for support, including from the county.
Advisory board member James Leveston, 75, said the board feels like the county should put a lot of attention on the project because they believe illegal dumping is a cause of the environment issues.
During a Jan. 11 Montgomery County Eagle Forum with Precinct 4 Commissioner candidates Jim Clark and challenger Bob Bagley in Shenandoah, the advisory board members and several Tamina residents discussed the cemetery with the candidates.
Easley said he felt there was a genuine response from the community, from nonresidents of Tamina and from the candidates in attendance. James Metts, who is also running for the position, did not attend the forum.
“The candidates are committed to assist the civic and humanitarian cause, not with taxpayer dollars, but with their time and talent,” Easley said.
The board also has an interest in connecting with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers as the first step to solving the drainage problem.
“This is our start,” Vanesta Davis said. “First, last and everything. We want to pass this on to future generations. We want this to be something to be proud of, not to have this go on and keep repeating itself.”
Tax deductible donations can be mailed to the nonprofit at the following address: The Tamina Cemetery and Community Project CDC, 29526 Legends Line Drive, Spring, TX 77386. For more information, contact Easley at Easley.elijah@gmail.com or 832-342-0404.