The Deutsche Gesellschaft von Houston, founded in 1875, established the German Society Cemetery here in 1887, offering family lots and single spaces to the public. By the time it was renamed Washington Cemetery in 1918, immigrants from at least 17 countries had been laid to rest here, with gravestones in English, German, Spanish, and Polish. It remains an active cemetery, with over 7,500 burials in its 13.5 acres.