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A 150-Year-Old Cemetery Has Been Rediscovered in a Million Dollar Neighborhood

A cemetery that became lost in a sprawling city has now been found. Harris County helped recognize Morse-Bragg cemetery as a historical landmark.

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  • 20170512_102131
    20170512_102131
  • 20170512_103015
    20170512_103015
  • The two remaining tombstones.
    The two remaining tombstones.
  • 20170512_101108
    20170512_101108
  • Some of the descendants of those buried at the cemetery
    Some of the descendants of those buried at the cemetery

Sandwiched in between million dollar town homes, right outside of Uptown Park lays an acre of grass.

In the 1800's it was home to the Morse family, where they had built a cotton gin, saw mill, and what's now known as Morse-Bragg Cemetery.

Dan Worrall played a large role in turning that land into a historical site.

"In 1851 Houston was a small village,” says Worrall. “It was four miles east of this point. They came to Texas for fresh lands settled here near Spring Feed Creek that lay about where that parking garage is behind me."

In the 1990's, new landowners wanted to turn the property in to real-estate and tombstones began mysteriously disappearing.

Janet Wagner recalled when her daughter use to play in the cemetery in the 1970's.

There were 17 tomb stones there at the time. Just two remain.

Years later her daughter drew a map to help an archeologist identify the graves.

"And so we gave it to the archaeologist who did some digging because they said, ‘Are there really graves out there? You know, is it imitation,' and they found them,” says Wagner.

The acre of grass has now been turned into a park with a historical landmark.

An obelisk sits in the center with engraved names of the people buried there.

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