The Welcome W. Chandler chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) this week gave Greenleaf Cemetery board members and employees $1,240 to help with costs of maintaining the historic Brown County burial ground.

The Brownwood DRT group sponsors the annual December Wreaths Across America (WAA) campaign honoring Brown County veterans buried at Greenleaf. The cemetery is an invaluable partner in the WAA effort and the DRT chapter shared with Greenleaf proceeds from the wreath sponsorships to help with upkeep. WAA rewards non-profits like DRT with monetary contributions for wreath sponsorships garnered.

“Not that $1,240 will go very far in the preservation of the treasures entombed in this beloved terrain,” noted Mary Lee Bailey Shelton, the local DRT’s wreath liaison. “I mean it recently cost them $850 for gas to fill the tractors with unleaded for mowers, weed-eaters and the gator. A thousand bucks doesn’t go very far in the upkeep of 22,000-plus gravesites, but we are glad to give our drop-in-the-bucket.”

Greenleaf Grounds Supervisor Shane Agan, the cemetery’s only full-time employee, explained that the backhoe and tractor run on diesel and costs right under $1,000 to fill up. The gas and diesel equipment require fill-ups about 4 times a year.

“I have two part-time employees who are working full-time as of Friday to stay ahead of everything,” Agan said, who, while speaking at the cemetery during off-hours, continually picked up debris and deposited it on the road to pick up later.

Agan’s dream, beyond the goal of a perfectly manicured and maintained Greenleaf Cemetery, is to construct a monument to the Buffalo soldiers (see attached illustrations).

The Buffalo Soldiers interred at Greenleaf are perfect examples of the enthralling, often unknown histories at the cemetery that confirm the cemetery’s historic significance.

The DRT donation fits perfectly into the mission to secure and memorialize historic sites, and to perpetuate the memory and spirit of those who achieved and maintained the independence of Texas, added Dr. Julie Kay Anderson Welker, DRT chapter president and communications department head at Howard Payne University.

The founders of Brownwood lie in rest in Greenleaf Cemetery, added Steve Harris, president of the Greenleaf Cemetery Association. Founders include notables like Noah T. Byers, in whose building the Declaration of Texas Independence was signed and the influencer who established the First Baptist Church of Brownwood and brought Howard Payne University to the town; and “Father of Brownwood” Greenleaf Fisk, who donated the original property for the settlement of Brownwood and for Greenleaf Cemetery.

Every generation of Brownwoodians since the town’s mid-1800s beginnings boasts leaders and history-makers, most buried in Greenleaf Cemetery. That’s not counting the thousands of beloved, ordinary, hard-working ancestors interred there who made Brownwood what it is today.

“Walking through the headstones at Greenleaf is like leafing through a Brownwood history book,” said Shelton. “It’s crucial that we preserve our history by supporting the upkeep and improvements at Greenleaf.”

“The future operation of Greenleaf Cemetery is in question, due to financial difficulties,” Harris said. The cemetery earns revenue from burials, and the number of burials are down due to families opting for cremation instead. “The Association and the City of Brownwood continue to work together to seek solutions for the long term stability, operation and upkeep of Greenleaf,” Harris said.

Regardless of the financial situation, the cemetery continues to grow and its caretakers continue to have goals. The City donated a house, now under renovation and located at the original historic entrance gate on Center Avenue. Brownwood businesses and individuals have donated building materials, time and talent to recondition the house into the cemetery office and gathering space for the community. And the cemetery association is working toward the goal of building a tabernacle where funeral services can be held.

“It is gratifying to support this historic location,” said Welker, who added that DRT plans to continue its support for the cemetery.

“We will launch a Christmas in July Wreaths Across America campaign this summer,” she added. The campaign will headquarter at the Brownwood Library where posters and information about veterans buried at Greenleaf Cemetery will be on display.

To make a financial donation to the cemetery you can make checks payable to Greenleaf Cemetery Association and mail it to: Greenleaf Cemetery Association, P.O.Box 455, Brownwood, Texas,76804-0455. To make an online donation go to greenleafcemetery.org. Scroll down to “donate” and follow instructions.

The local DRT chapter encourages women ages 18 and older who believe they descend from someone who lived in Texas at the time of the Republic of Texas (1835-1846) to apply for membership. Even if a woman does not have direct lineage to an ancestor from the time of the Republic, she can join as an associate member. If you are not sure when your Texas roots began, let the DRT help you discover your lone star beginnings. For help, call the Brownwood Genealogy Library at 325-646-6006 and ask for Karen Fair.

This Brownwood group of Texas devotees is a state organization with a mission to remember those who achieved and maintained the independence of Texas; to educate students and the public about Texas history, encourage early Texas research, to preserve historic documents and encourage the publication of historic records, and to secure and memorialize historic sites.