• Admission is free.
• A donation of $35 provides individual access to our highly acclaimed Living Biographies tour and refreshments.
• Donations over $200 provide the above access for 2, as well as Sponsor Recognition on the FWADG website and on the new Western Heights Cemetery Association website.

Western Heights Cemetery is located at 1617 Fort Worth Avenue in Dallas, TX. Parking is available on Neal Street along the East border of the cemetery. The entrance is on Fort Worth Avenue at the East end of the cemetery.

2025 Cemetery Events Calendar

Recent Events

Western Heights Cemetery turned 177 years old on Saturday, June 28!  The occasion was marked with the inaugural Founders Day commemoration and was very well attended.

At 8:30 the latest installment in the regular History Chat Breakfast series was held next to the cemetery at White Rhino Coffee. Researchers, descendants, other family members, and history buffs discussed the history of the cemetery, the ways many of the families there are related to each other, and specifically discussed the life of Augustine Byram, the first burial at Western Heights in late June 1848.

At 10:00 there was a 1 hour guided walking tour of the historic cemetery which contains 25 veterans graves, including 16 from the Civil War, both Union and Confederate, and those who moved here from England, Germany, France, Switzerland, Mexico, Hungary, and Russia.  We continue to receive positive comments from participants about the quality of the tours and how informative they are.  Look for our next tour event on November 2 during our annual fundraising event, and November 11 for Veterans Day, which will include flag placement on veteran graves and Living Biographies describing the lives of veterans buried here.

On Memorial Day a small group gathered at Western Heights Cemetery to honor those service members from the Civil War (Union and Confederate), the Spanish-American War and World Wars 1 and 2 who are buried there. Van Johnson, Volunteer Coordinator, led the group on a tour of the graves of American soldiers.

Each grave was visited and an American Flag placed on a medallion indicating which war the veteran fought in.

Every life is a story. In recognition of the lives of those who lived and died in service to their country, a brief remembrance of each veteran’s life story was read beside their grave.

Th event was a moving and solemn experience for those in attendance.

At 11:00 a.m., Noble Hetherington played Taps as an expression of honor for the deceased soldiers.

The Annual Western Heights Cemetery Descendants Day event was held on May 3. The day was full of opportunities to learn about local history and genealogies while connecting with other descendants.  The headstone repair and cleaning demonstration by Michael Rowlands, Michaelangelo Historic Stone Preservation, provided critical information for restoring and preserving the WHC headstones.

Van Johson, Cemetery Volunteer Coordinator, led descendants and visitors on amazing cemetery walking tours which were full of the cemetery’s historical information and insights into the vegetation and preservation process.  Descendants provided their personal insights into the histories of the family members buried at Western Heights during the tour. Van also described the role of the Constellation of Living Memorials. The cemetery’s new markers and rain collection barrels, constructed by Eagle Scout candidate, David Dwyer, Troop 838, and his fellow scouts and friends, were highlights too.

New volunteers signed up to help with the maintenance and continued restoration of the cemetery over the course of the day. Individuals came from both far away and locally to participate in the 2^nd Annual Descendants Day.

Thanks All for being with us to celebrate the WHC Descendants Day event!

The Mother’s Day Full Moon Walk at Historic Western Heights Cemetery was a special and unique experience! On May 11, Van Johnson, Cemetery Volunteer Coordinator, and Amy Martin, author of the book “Wild DFW,” provided a one-of-a-kind experience for participants. Martin wove the moon’s unique phases into her insights about nature, and Johnson complimented the experience with stories about the mothers buried in WHC. These mothers were instrumental in creating Dallas, for better or worse, and their stories are woven into the city’s history as shared with the group.

Some mothers were surprised by receiving a personalized brick for the Cemetery’s Memorial Plaza. If you’d like to purchase a brick to support Western Heights Cemetery, scan the QR code below and follow the instructions at Fort Worth Avenue Development Group’s website

Previous Events 

Thank You, Western Heights Cemetery Sponsors!