HUTTO, Texas — What lies beneath the surface of the Black Shilo Cemetery is a tale of many unknowns. A forgotten history in Texas nonprofit group Black Families of Hutto is on a mission to uncover.

Located just a few miles outside of Austin, the Shilo Black Cemetery was the designated burial site for Black individuals during a time of segregation back in the late 1800s — a final resting place for the Black community that’s been vandalized throughout the years.

While approximately 100 burials are recorded at the cemetery, only 24 headstones are visible. 

Robyn Bieber is a combat veteran who served in the Iraqi War. She now spends her time studying history and volunteering with Black Families of Hutto.

“There were a lot of overgrown areas. There was a dump site at the end of the cemetery. Come to find out it was like an entire shed and years of piled-up trash,” recalled Bieber

Bieber said she took on the cleanup project with the group as a way to honor those who have passed before her by helping beautify the cemetery.

A cleanup, Rabiat Ngbwa of Black Families of Hutto said, was drawn out for months over the course of several weekends.

During the cleanup process, Ngbwa recalls additional burials being found under the rubbish that wasn’t listed on previous records. These burials included the tombstones of several veterans who fought in World War I and World War II.

“Love for our country doesn’t stop at the color of your skin. Veterans' graves and memorials are taken seriously. Why not these?" Bieber said. "It makes me sad to see any veteran that has been forgotten, but even more so a Black veteran. Especially since we were segregated in the military and marginalized in the military and marginalized when we come back home."

In hopes of bridging the gap in the city, Peter Gordon with the Hutto City Council joined efforts to help restore the cemetery and protect it from further vandalism.

“What’s been happening is there is no lock on the gate. There is a fence on the property that borders the street so anyone can access the cemetery anytime they want. I don’t think that it’s been used for recent dumping but we never know,” said Gordon

Black Families of Hutto told us the cleanup is only phase one. The group plans to get more volunteers involved to maintain the upkeep of cemetery.

The community is also working with officials and different organizations to help find additional burials and hopes to get the site recognized as a historic landmark in the state of Texas.