About this site
Goyens is a cemetery in Nacogdoches County, Texas. It is one of 127 cemeteries documented in Nacogdoches County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 240 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 31.6103, -94.7150. The nearest cataloged historic site is Baugh Family (cemetery), about 0.7 miles away. Others within a short drive include Old Union, Sandy Ridge, and Old Stone.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #7347019805. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
History
This burial ground sits on Goyens' Hill, roughly four miles west of Nacogdoches, on land accumulated by William 'Bill' Goyens (1794-1856), a free man of color who became a prominent blacksmith, freighter, and landowner in early Texas. Goyens served as an interpreter and intermediary with the Cherokees during the Texas Revolution, negotiating alongside Sam Houston, and at his death he left an estate of more than 12,000 acres. He and his wife were buried on the hilltop property, and the site, earlier associated with Spanish and Native American burials, became the Goyens family cemetery.
Sources: tshaonline.orghmdb.org
