St. John’s Cemetery Association (SJCA) is a community-led preservation organization dedicated to securing access to, protecting the sacred burial grounds within, and restoring the cultural memory of the historic St. John’s Cemetery, the last remains of one of Denton County’s earliest post-emancipation Black communities.

The SJCA was established in June 2025 by local advocates committed to overseeing and assuming maintenance and memorial care responsibilities of the historic St John’s cemetery after its certification by the Texas Historical Commission. SJCA is currently engaged in negotations with adjacent land owners to facilitate the reasonable access necessary to ensure meaningful care of the cemetery in accordance with state laws. Currently, all preservation efforts remain stalled pending possible litigation with adjacent landowners.

St John’s Cemetery Association’s Mission is to:

1. Secure regular and reasonable access to St John’s Cemetery for the general public and individuals with family members buried at the site.

2. Secure regular and reasonable access to St John’s Cemetery for SJCA members, preservation, and maintenance care experts in order to facilitate the following: evaluations by preservation experts; the development and execution of an effective restoration and conservation plan; use of ground penetrating radar to officially determine the full extent of burials at the site; installation of better security and perimeter barriers to prevent further degradation by trespassing livestock and persons.

3. Facilitate further research into the existence and mysterious disappearance of the St John’s community.

4. Facilitate opportunities for community education surrounding the region’s legacy of white supremacy.

5. Identify additional descendants of the St John’s community and further support historic research into the community’s establishment, mysterious disappearance, and the historic events which led to St John’s cemetery becoming landlocked and inaccessible for nearly a century.