Historic Austin cemetery vandalized, again

AUSTIN, Texas - On Wednesday afternoon, Robert Caraway and Jesse Williams were surveying the damage at Fiskville Cemetery.

"They just come and ‘boom, boom, boom,’" said Williams, showing FOX 7 knocked over headstones. "Some of them are going to be irreparable." 

These men and their families maintain the over 150-year-old cemetery where their own loved ones are also buried. 

"When we took over, we got my family plot up here," said Caraway.

That was back in 2008.

"When we [started] the grass was about five or six feet tall, and you couldn’t find any headstones and families couldn’t lay flowers on their loved one’s graves," said Williams. "So we said something had to be done."

Fast-forward 15 years, and they could use a re-paved driveway and their broken entrance gate, previously vandalized, should be fixed, too. But they rely on donations, and funds don’t allow for much besides cutting the grass.  

"Sometimes we get time in between cutting the grass, and we’ll level the headstones and stuff," said Williams. "What’s so disheartening is we’ll spend our time coming out here and level the headstones and repair them, and then we come and find something like this." 

Even their security cameras they put up about a year ago have been stolen. 

MORE: Headstones damaged in old Austin cemetery

Williams said vandalism occurs every few years or so.

"Someone puts graffiti on the headstones, or they come through and break the headstones," said Williams. "Usually they’re not as destructive as they were this time."

Robert Caraway and his wife, Patricia, plan to be buried here someday alongside their family.

Even their headstones weren’t left untouched. The couple’s photo on the headstone will have to be replaced. 

"It’s frustrating for us because we repair headstones and put them back to just find a year or two later they’re busted again," said Williams.

Donations to Fiskville Cemetery can be sent to P.O. Box 193, Cedar Creek, TX 78612.