St. John’s Cemetery, recognized as the oldest known African American burial ground in Denton County, is the focus of a preservation effort led by local residents and the St. John’s Cemetery Association. Located in northern Denton County near Pilot Point, the 1.5-acre site was consecrated in the late 1890s by formerly enslaved residents who established the adjacent church and school on the former Bonner plantation. More than 400 individuals are believed to be interred there, though only 56 names have been confirmed.
The cemetery’s isolation stems from a 1918 property transaction that recorded inaccurate boundaries, effectively absorbing the burial ground into an adjacent parcel. Decades of subsequent land transfers left the site landlocked and inaccessible. Although boundary issues were partially addressed in the 1960s, the community’s history had largely faded from public memory until scholars and advocates revived preservation efforts in recent years.
Jessica Luther Rummel, the association’s lead researcher, has documented the site’s decline alongside a sharp drop in Denton County’s African American population during the 1920s, a period marked by racial violence and Klan intimidation in the region. Rummel stated the goal is to correct historical wrongs and highlight the sacrifices of those buried there. Under Texas law, the site remains tax-exempt, and descendants of the original 1891 trustees are considered the rightful owners. While state code guarantees reasonable public access, specific routes and hours remain determined by surrounding property owners.