RICHMOND, Texas – The only road leading to Pleasant Green Cemetery in Richmond has been repaired, weeks after 2 Helps You reported deep potholes were making the historic site difficult to reach.
Myra Lowrie, a Fort Bend County resident who volunteers her time cleaning headstones at cemeteries across the area, shared video of the newly smoothed dirt road with KPRC’s anchor/reporter Zach Lashway. She thanked him for helping draw attention to the issue to get the road repaired.
Lowrie, who calls herself the cemetery lady, contacted KPRC 2 in early December after she said she hit dead ends trying to determine who owned and maintained the private road. The potholes were so large, she said, some vehicles could not pass.
Pleasant Green Cemetery is a historic Black cemetery founded in 1868, with records indicating some of the earliest burials occurred in the early 1800s. Some graves are unmarked. The cemetery includes veterans and former enslaved people, according to those who care for the grounds.
Pastor Herman Clay of Pleasant Green Baptist Church previously told KPRC 2 the church owns the land beneath the cemetery, but not the road leading to it. He said the church historically served as a community hub, including as a school, and described the area’s ties to slavery-era history.
KPRC 2 reviewed county records and identified Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District 134-A as the road’s owner. Since the original story aired, MUD 134-A said it repaired the road.
Lowrie said the improved access matters for families visiting both older graves and more recent burials, and for preserving the stories connected to the cemetery and the community around it.