LUFKIN - The Texas Historical Commission recently designated Berry Cemetery as a Historic Texas Cemetery. The distinction means the cemetery has been legally recorded through the THC's Historic Texas Cemetery Program, an important step in ensuring its preservation.

The designation is reserved for cemeteries that are at least 50 years old and documented through the Historic Texas Cemeteries process to record their historic association and signifi- cance.

A dedication ceremony to commemorate this historic designation and the placing of the medallion at the entrance to Berry Cemetery will be held at 10 a.m. July 16 at Berry Cemetery, on the north side of FM 842 next to Mt. Zion Baptist Church, about four miles north of Highway 103. For more information, call Jonathan Gerland, Angelina County Historical Commission chairman, at 829-3543, or Georgia Bradberry, Berry Cemetery historical marker sponsor, at 632-5462.

"The designation is a tool that will increase public awareness of these important cultural resources," said Larry Oaks, executive director of THC. "Awareness and education are among the best ways to guarantee the preservation of a cemetery."

While not a required element of the Texas Historical Cemetery designation, the distinctive medallion is a recognized symbol of preservation efforts. The medallion includes the words "Historic Texas Cemetery - Texas Historical Commission" encircling a central star, rose and cypress branch. It is available to any cemetery that has received the Historic Texas Cemetery designation through an application process that documents the history and features of the state's historic public and private burial grounds.

"We are pleased with the efforts of those volunteers who worked in receiving the Historic Texas Cemetery designation for Berry Cemetery," said Gerland. "We congratulate them on a job well done."

Berry Cemetery began in the 1860s with the burials of twin siblings Samuel and Elizabeth Berry on the crest of a hill on the Berry plantation in northern Angelina County. An adjoining burial ground was reserved for Berry plantation slaves. The land later became a community burial ground for families of the Moffett area.

Cemeteries hold valuable historical information. They are often the last reminders of early settlements' historical events, religious beliefs, lifestyles and genealogy. While the Historic Texas Cemetery designation encourages cemetery preservation, it cannot guarantee that a historic cemetery will avoid destruction. Threats to historic cemeteries include urban expansion and development, vandalism, grazing animals and long-term deterioration from weather and uncontrolled vegetation.