Recently purchased a few dozen acres, has an old family Cemetery on it. Last person was buried there in the 1890s. (I don't expect visitors as we are 4 generations out) Personally I think it adds a bit of charm to the place. It's on the complete opposite side of the property from the house and takes up maybe 1/10 of an acre. It's not very well kept, previous owners would mow it once a year or something. It's got a decent fence around it and about 7 marked graves.

I have read up a little bit and noted that you have to make reasonable accommodation for family access, previous owners said they had one request over the past 10 years.

Anyone have any stories/experience, good or bad?

Don't be surprised if you have random visitors. Lots of foks doing ancestry work visit properties like yours.

This is what Grok AI says:

1. Right to Access:
Any person wishing to visit a cemetery or private burial ground (such as a family cemetery) on private property, where no public ingress or egress is available, has the right to reasonable ingress and egress for the purpose of visiting the cemetery. This right is limited to:
Visitation during reasonable hours.
Purposes typically associated with cemetery visits, such as paying respects or maintaining graves.
2. Landowner's Rights:
The owner of the land surrounding the cemetery may:
Designate the routes for reasonable ingress and egress.
Specify reasonable hours for visitation.
If the landowner has set specific hours, a visitor who wishes to access the cemetery outside those hours must provide written notice at least 14 days in advance, specifying the desired visitation time. If the requested time is reasonable, the landowner must allow access.
3. Notification Process:
To gain access, a visitor should:
Send a written letter to the landowner requesting a specific date or range of dates for the visit (at least 14 days in advance). The letter should include the visitor's contact information and be sent via certified mail to retain a copy for records.
If the landowner does not respond or denies access, a second letter should be sent, reiterating the request and stating that a copy will be sent to local law enforcement. Include a copy of the first letter and a reference to Section 711.041.
If access is still denied, the visitor can contact local law enforcement (sheriff or municipal police) to enforce the law, as the Texas Historical Commission is not a law enforcement agency and cannot intervene directly.

I've heard over the years that in some states/areas you 'might' be eligible for some type of property tax benefit by having a cemetery on your property. I've never chased it down, so not sure AT ALL, but could be worth looking into. Hope there's something there for you!

Google says that "generally" cemeteries are exempt from property tax. Just that bit of land, not your whole ranch.

Interesting subject. I think if I owned land and a cemetary like you are talking about was on it, I would love to talk to the family, just to get the history.

And the 1000' wide egress route

Its possible. I know that I have ancestors buried in or near Rosebud in a small plot on someones land. I would have to ask my mom, but then you might end up dealing with her and I don't think you want that.

The now retired state trooper Clay Taylor (Big guy, used to stand on the sidelines with whomever the Aggies head football coach was at the time) and I have talked before. He also had ancestors in that area. He might also have some insight into it.

I'll make a deal with you. If you'll let me deer hunt out there, I won't tell my mom...

I think you should dig them up, move them a couple hundred yards away into a big communal earth hole, then build a house where the cemetery was.

At what point is it archaeological vs grave robbery? 100 years, 200, 300? Obviously I'm joking, but I wonder if metal detecting around the site would yield anything interesting. I'm guessing there was a homestead near this location. Would people typically place these near the home site or farther away?

Nothing directly on point to add, but I find forgotten cemeteries to be fascinating. I guess it comes from my love of history. There's one in my Houston neighborhood that was recently restored as part of an Eagle Project. I had no idea it existed until a fence was blow over during Hurricane Harvey that made the grave markers visible from the street:

https://www.theleadernews.com/community/honoring-pioneers-vollmer-cemetery-receives-historic-texas-cemetery-designation/article_2f01b8e2-f908-11ef-85f5-6f913ea804c7.html

I have a cousin who established one on his farm....in 2011.

He lost a grandson, and has since lost his son (first burial's dad), and his wife are all buried there, along with two neighbors.

Apparently it's a pretty simple thing to declare a property as a cemetery.

I've seen it but have not yet stopped by.

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2205797/hillendahl-family-cemetery

I wish I could see what the area looked like in 1854. The entire Spring Branch area was german dairy farms in the late 19th century, if memory serves.

A former Presidemt of A&M was buried there

Lafayette Lumpkin Foster, I believe

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1981648/texas-a%26m-college-cemetery#view-photo=29468090

3035'53.3"N 9620'15.9"W

https://goo.gl/maps/qja2X3xGGn3EFtdo7

As a dead person, I will care not. It's just a body. However, I will say, that the picture of the Hillendahl family is about my worst nightmare. On top of the inconvenience of being dead, being dead in a grave stuck in or near the GD city that was once a useful and beautiful area seems about as bad as it gets.

The wife and I have rejected a grave for this very reason. Burn us up, spread to the wind in the north pasture with my horses. In a 100 years, that too will be a parking lot but at least I won't be stuck there. With a grave, In a few short decades we will be like the folks in the mall parking lot above and in the OP....just another name with a body that is of no consequence to anyone passing by outside of an entertaining curiosity if you're lucky.

Here's a local oddity for yall. Always love making my kids stop and see stuff like this.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/uEYUYjV7TiUrrL71A