16 replies to this topic

[Cemeterywolf]

Looking for info or location of the old Dickinson Gun Plant site. Near there is or was the Galena Park,Cemetery? West of Clinton Dr, north of the Houston Ship Channel, about 200 yards from the old Dickinson Gun Plant site. The cemetery is surrounded by a 4 foot cement wall?
Could this location be reach?
Thanks for any info.

[silverartfox]

Cemeterywolf, on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 5:56 PM, said:

Looking for info or location of the old Dickinson Gun Plant site. Near there is or was the Galena Park,Cemetery? West of Clinton Dr, north of the Houston Ship Channel, about 200 yards from the old Dickinson Gun Plant site. The cemetery is surrounded by a 4 foot cement wall?
Could this location be reach?
Thanks for any info.

I think you're referring to the Dickson Gun Plant. Have you checked the Handbook of Texas as to its location, etc.?

[John Daigle]

silverartfox, on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 10:11 PM, said:

I think you're referring to the Dickson Gun Plant. Have you checked the Handbook of Texas as to its location, etc.?

Thanks for that Handbook of Texas reference!
Yep. I remember my dad talking about it. It was his first job as a metallurgist. After the war, he and the rest of the crew went to Hughes Tool Company where he worked for 37 years.

[TheNiche]

If you check Google Earth's 1944 aerial imagery for Galena Park, you can see the shiny new plant along with shiny new worker's housing right across Clinton Drive. The afternoon sun casts shadows on everything, so fencelines are visible. There are several possibilities for a small cemetery with a four-foot wall along or off of Clinton, but all have been developed over. Likewise, nearly every parcel of currently-vacant land was formerly developed.

I think that you may be out of luck on this one.

[NenaE]

http://www.lib.utexa...cinity-1955.jpg
this is a stretch...but northwest of the gun plant, north of Clinton Rd., northeast of the neigborhood for the workers, are letters in an open field, cem with 4 marks, could this be the spot of a very small cemetery, measures approx. 200 yds. from the gun plant.
On the map, see directly north of the words port terminal.

Edited by NenaE, Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 10:37 AM.

[TheNiche]

NenaE, on Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 10:03 AM, said:

http://www.lib.utexa...cinity-1955.jpg
this is a stretch...but northwest of the gun plant, north of Clinton Rd., east of the neigborhood for the workers, are letters in an open field, cem with 4 marks, could this be the spot of a very small cemetert, measures approx. 200 yds. from the gun plant.
On the map, see directly north of the words port terminal.

In the aerial imagery for that location, I see a smattering of houses or shacks and some outbuildings. No indications of a cemetery and no clear fencelines. That is where 610 is now, so if it was there, then it's been lost to history.

[NenaE]

TheNiche, on Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 10:19 AM, said:

In the aerial imagery for that location, I see a smattering of houses or shacks and some outbuildings. No indications of a cemetery and no clear fencelines. That is where 610 is now, so if it was there, then it's been lost to history.

I agree, if it was there, the small possible family burial plots would have been moved, present location would sit either within the industrial park (nearest roads being Maxine, Industrial, and Turning Basin), or lost to freeway construction.
Cemeterywolf, where did you hear about the cement wall? Just curious.

Edited by NenaE, Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 10:58 AM.

[NenaE]

http://hti.math.uh.e...01/06.01.10.pdf
...article containing info. on Galena Park & Clinton, mentioning the Christian Aid Cemetery.
Mentions struggles African Americans endured, even with burial of their families, often taken to hometowns or buried on their own land, and talks of the Christian Aid Cemetery eventually being founded, mentions the freeway built over the cemetery, remains were moved to another cemetery, see pages 134, top of pg. 139. The document says it was a large cemetery.
Excellent historic documentation.

Edited by NenaE, Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 11:44 AM.

[Cemeterywolf]

NenaE, on Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 10:35 AM, said:

I agree, if it was there, the small possible family burial plots would have been moved, present location would sit either within the industrial park (nearest roads being Maxine, Industrial, and Turning Basin), or lost to freeway construction.
Cemeterywolf, where did you hear about the cement wall? Just curious.

From website Burials of Harris Co.,Texas.
Galena Park Cemetery?
(w. of Clinton Dr, n. of the Houston Ship Channel, about 200 yards from the old Dickinson Gun Plant site. The cemetery is surrounded by a 4 foot cement wall.}
I was just wondering myself were they got this info?

[Cemeterywolf]

NenaE, on Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 11:33 AM, said:

http://hti.math.uh.e...01/06.01.10.pdf
...article containing info. on Galena Park & Clinton, mentioning the Christian Aid Cemetery.
Mentions struggles African Americans endured, even with burial of their families, often taken to hometowns or buried on their own land, and talks of the Christian Aid Cemetery eventually being founded, mentions the freeway built over the cemetery, remains were moved to another cemetery, see pages 134, top of pg. 139. The document says it was a large cemetery.
Excellent historic documentation.

Thank you so much for this info. I was also working on this cemetery too. AAAAAAA+++++++

[Stephen]

Cemeterywolf, on Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 10:18 PM, said:

Thank you so much for this info. I was also working on this cemetery too. AAAAAAA+++++++

I have been lurking on this thread... found this info yesterday: http://clintonaid.webs.com/ appears to refer to the same cemetery

[sevfiv]

^If that's the one then it's close to the Brunsville area we scoured a while back.
http://www.houstonar...e-ship-channel/

The land between Maxine St. and the Loop may have contained part of that cemetery - now it's a large industrial storage lot.

[Cemeterywolf]

Stephen, on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 8:57 AM, said:

I have been lurking on this thread... found this info yesterday: http://clintonaid.webs.com/ appears to refer to the same cemetery

That is my website, just wanted to add more info to it.
George E. Wolf Jr.
Cemeteries and History of Harris Co.,Texas

[NenaE]

...thought this was a good source of info., although I didn't see much in reference to the Clinton Aid Society. I found the info. on the people of the Harrisburg Cemetery very interesting, with cowboys and Sam Houston's aid interred within.
This is a word.doc, had trouble posting the link, let me know if it doesn't work.

paste this in google search, it's the first topic in list, hit the "Quick View" ,
htown.aahgs.org/files/htown_projects_cemeteries.doc

Edited by NenaE, Monday, June 13, 2011 at 1:23 PM.

[NenaE]

Stephen, on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 8:57 AM, said:

I have been lurking on this thread... found this info yesterday: http://clintonaid.webs.com/ appears to refer to the same cemetery

Good find, thanks. Had not seen this before, but have read Mr. Wolf's name many times, in cemetery research. Cemeterywolf, those lat and long coordinates from the website list (for the area we've discussed) did not place me where I thought they would.

Sevfiv, I agree that the area to the east of Maxine St. could have been part of the cemetery. The name Brunsville has come up several times when I've looked at the block books, but found no reference to the cemetery.

Edited by NenaE, Monday, June 13, 2011 at 12:19 PM.

[NenaE]

http://www.lib.utexa...eights-1915.jpg
...a question for cemeterywolf or others, in this map, does the cross within the triangle shape near the Olivewood Cemetery signify a church? It would have sat very close to the bayou, n/e of the cemetery grounds. There have been stories of churches that were mistakenly associated with the cemetery, only because they owned plots within the burial grounds. Maybe the cemetery is linked to the church in the map, could have been moved or destroyed, due to it's proximity to the bayou, and/ or flood water. I haven't had any luck identifying which one it was.
http://mycity.housto...oodCemetery.pdf

Edited by NenaE, Friday, June 17, 2011 at 4:05 PM.

[Bess Collector]

Dickinson Gun Plant if it was still there would be on your right as you were going north over the I-610 Ship Channel Bridge. The entrance to it was were the Coast Guard gate was off ClintonDr. In the late 1960's and early 70's it was were I had to go for my monthly Reserve meetings. The Coast Guard used parts of the old facilities along with 2 different Reserve units. I have not been there since 1973, but there have been newer facilities built for the Coast Guard. To the west of the old building was open area that extended to the new 610 bridge. At the time I always thought of it as the Sea of Japan for all of the Jap vehicles parked there after unloading from the ships. Ironic that the gun plant was used to build weapons for WW II against Japan/Germany/Italy, then get invaded by the very same countries automobile factories!