I didn't know you could do this. What were they going to do, evict the "residents?"
The historic Middleton Tate Johnson Plantation Cemetery in Arlington, Texas and an African-American cemetery connected to it were sold to two local businessmen as part of a larger parcel of land. The businessmen had no idea they had purchased a cemetery until after the property transfer was completed. Then local tax authorities demanded payment of back taxes.
Actually, the story has a happy ending but the series of events that preceded that ending sounds like a comedy of errors. "We're not sure how it did end up back on the tax rolls," said Ivan Bland, an assistant city attorney in Arlington.
You can read more in an article in the Arlington Citizen-Journal at http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/01/03/2740792/old-arlington-cemetery-is-back.html
My thanks to Betty Clay for telling me about this article.
