ABOUT

Some founding PAACC Board Members and attendees at a 2011 PAACC Board meeting.

The Pyland African American Cemetery Charter is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization comprised of board members from all over the state of Texas who have come together with one goal in mind- to preserve the significance and the aesthetics of the Pyland African American Cemetery. (You can read the cemetery below.)

The mission of the Pyland African American Cemetery Charter, also known as The PAACC, is to care for and make improvements to the grounds of the Pyland African American Cemetery. Established in 2004, the PAACC has made significant and consistent changes to the appearance of the cemetery with the help of both individual and corporate donors. To date, donations have helped to tame the cemetery greenery, define a driveway for ease of entry and exodus of the cemetery, and to adorn the tombstones of the interred with flowers.

In 2012, The PAACC implemented a website to help donors can actively see how their donations are being used in the cemetery. Plans to make the cemetery a more welcoming and polished site for families are in the works.  Donors are encouraged to check www.thepaacc.org regularly as news and updates regarding the Pyland African American Cemetery and the PAACC are routinely posted.

The Pyland African American Cemetery is a cemetery located on Highway 49, South of Avinger, Northwest of Jefferson in the Northeastern Texas county of Marion County.  The Pyland African American Cemetery is one of America’s century-old African American cemeteries.

A picture of the Pyland African American Cemetery around 2011.

The cemetery sits on land donated by the J. D. Pyland family.  It is estimated that the land was donated  during 1888 or 1889 since the earliest known grave is that of Annie Lou Gipson dated 1889 and there are no records with an exact date showing when the land was donated.  The Pylands were longtime members and leaders of the community and it is believed that Dr. W.J. Pyland was its namesake.

Many of those interred at the Pyland African American Cemetery were born during slavery and some served in our country’s military during war as well as peacetime.

The cemetery has been a staple in the community for decades.  Throughout the years, descendants and friends of those interred in the cemetery would come together and contribute to the welfare of this rich community  staple.  From the 1900s to the 1970s they met on Memorial Day with tools in hand to clean the grounds.  Today the Pyland African American Cemetery Charter, also known as the PAACC, the governing body of the Pyland African American Cemetery uses Memorial Day as a time to beautify the graves with flowers in conjunction with the ongoing maintenance of the cemetery.

The work of the PAACC and the effect it has on this cemetery is noticed when driving by and makes it a desirable place for the burial of loved ones.