The Tomball Police Department shared that at about 10:41 a.m., officers responded to reports of a possible historic cemetery at 110 N. Walnut Street. Police said the address links back to an active construction site where an older building had recently been demolished.
According to Capt. Brandon Patin with Tomball PD, crews demolished the building Tuesday morning and were loading up stuff when they found what appeared to be gravestones. Police said the headstones date back to the early 1900s.
After the findings, a contractor immediately notified the City of Tomball, and the area was secured. Since then, police said the scene has been on lockdown while the appropriate historical authorities are contacted to assess the discovery and determine the site's historical significance.
"This is different. Therefore, our goal is to protect the area until we hear from the Texas Historical Society because if it is a cemetery, we want to respect people's ancestors," Patin said.
Patin said it's unclear how long the building that was demolished had been there, but given this discovery, they're waiting to hear back from the Texas Historical Society on how to move forward.
"The City of Tomball is committed to treating the site with the utmost respect while the investigation is underway, recognizing that the area may contain the final resting place of individuals' ancestors," Tomball PD said in its post.