Information regarding the Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery explained and explored.

Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery is one of Austin’s most obscure and most forgotten cemeteries. Not too much information is known about this cemetery. The cemetery is unnamed and is identified only as the Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery due to its location. This news article will attempt to explain and explore the history behind Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery.

Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery was aligned and plotted on the outskirts of Austin at East William Cannon Drive & South Pleasant Valley sometime during the 19th century. However the exact date of when this cemetery was plotted is unknown. What is known is that Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery is located on a hill bluff on South Pleasant Valley Road just north of East William Cannon Drive and is located in what once Williamson Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The property of where Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery was located on was purchased in 1962 by the City of Austin as part of a 500-acre acquisition for the purpose of constructing a wastewater treatment plant. This wastewater treatment plant would become Williamson Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. Construction of Williamson Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant was completed in 1963. The City of Austin put up a new 8 foot tall chain link fence with an opening for access which replaced the old fence which surrounded the perimeter of the cemetery during that time. (Ref: https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=214626)

Williamson Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant was decommissioned in 1986 after a structural error released 2 million gallons of raw sewage into Williamson Creek earlier in the 1980s due to being overloaded. The cemetery remained untouched for the most part. Sometime during the 20th century the cemetery became neglected and forgotten.

Ronnie Pitman and Suzanne Pitman of the Austin Genealogical Society identified a cemetery in the vicinity of the  intersection of South Pleasant Valley Road and East William Cannon Drive in April 2007. There were estimated to be 4-6 graves during their visit. However only one burial with no name was visible at the time of the April 2007 visit. There were no gravestones. Interestingly enough, a couple of funeral home markers were reported to have existed in the past. Appearance of Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery was overgrown. Measurements of Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery are 8 feet by 12 feet (8 x 12). This information was compiled by volunteers who either transcribed historical records or visited the cemetery to write down the names and dates. (Ref: http://austintxgensoc.org/cemeteries/pleasant-valley-road-cemetery/)

This cemetery may be associated with a former community of Pleasant Valley and Pleasant Hill. There is also a slight possibility that the cemetery may contain burials of African-Americans. (Ref: https://www.traviscountytx.gov/images/historical_commission/Doc/Histroical_Reports/african-american-settlement-survey.pdf)

Today Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery contains no marked graves and is surrounded by an 8 foot tall chain link fence with an opening for access. All tombstones have been removed. The Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery is now owned and maintained by the City of Austin. All mineral rights and property rights belong to the city.

Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery is located at the intersection of East William Cannon Drive & South Pleasant Valley Road. The address for Pleasant Valley Road Cemetery is 5400 East William Cannon Drive, Austin, Texas, US 78744.