Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainA private San Antonio family cemetery over 120 years old — Guzman family ownership confirmed on-record to KENS 5 in 2009 — and one of the city's most circulated urban legends.
10445 S Zarzamora St, San Antonio, TX 78224
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Drive-by observation only; the cemetery is on private property and not open to the public.
Access
Limited Access
Roadside private cemetery; no public access path.
Equipment
No Photos
Over 120 years of Guzman family burials · Guzman ownership confirmed to KENS 5, 2009 · One of San Antonio south side's most-circulated urban legends
The Lona China Cemetery sits on private land along South Zarzamora Street, near the campus of Texas A&M University at San Antonio in the city's south side. The property has been a Guzman family burial ground for over 120 years, according to Joey Guzman, a family member and property caretaker who spoke with KENS 5 News in 2009 for a report on south-side haunted places.
Most of the grave markers share the Guzman surname. A smaller cluster of graves on one side of the property bear Chinese surnames, which is the origin of the cemetery's older informal name, the Chinese Graveyard. The cemetery has no public access; warning signs and a white cross mark the front gate. The property is acknowledged as Lona China Cemetery in contemporary local reporting, including KSAT's 2023 feature on south-side haunted places.
The site sits in an area of San Antonio that developed heavily in the mid-twentieth century; the proximity to the newer Texas A&M campus has brought the cemetery renewed attention in recent years. Paranormal investigators and urban legend enthusiasts are the primary visitors; the family has posted warnings against trespassing and against occult activity on the grounds.
Sources
The legend attached to the Lona China Cemetery was recounted in part by Joey Guzman, a family member, in a 2009 KENS 5 News interview. According to Guzman, a great-uncle of his was involved in a relationship with a Chinese woman that his great-grandfather forbade. While riding to meet her, the great-uncle and his horse were struck by lightning and killed. The woman died at his gravesite and was subsequently buried beside him. Guzman stated that his family believes there is a curse on the graveyard.
Paranormal accounts associated with the cemetery include a seven-foot-tall apparition of an Asian woman, sightings of a man on horseback, white mist, and light orbs. Some visitors have reported hearing voices after turning off their car engines near the front gate. Cold spots and reports of physical sensations are also part of the local lore. The cemetery also occasionally draws people associated with occult practices, which is the reason for the posted warning signs.
The Donkey Lady — a separate San Antonio south-side legend connected to a bridge on Applewhite Road — is sometimes conflated with the cemetery's paranormal reputation in informal accounts, though the two stories are distinct in origin.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The cemetery is visible from South Zarzamora Street near the Texas A&M University-San Antonio campus. White crosses at the front gate and warning signs on the trees mark the property boundary. The site is privately owned by the Guzman family and is not open for public entry.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Terlingua, TX
Howard E. Perry established the Chisos Mining Company on May 8, 1903, beginning commercial mercury extraction from the cinnabar-rich rock around Terlingua Creek. At its peak in 1917, the mine produced 7,200 flasks of quicksilver and employed 125 workers around the clock. The company became insolvent on October 1, 1942, and the site was abandoned. The cemetery on the slope below the company town holds burials from 1903 through the mid-twentieth century, including those who died from mercury exposure and the 1918–19 influenza epidemic.
Los Angeles, CA
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a 62-acre cemetery at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, California, founded in 1899 as Hollywood Cemetery on a 100-acre tract of former farmland. Paramount Pictures' studios occupy 40 acres of the original cemetery property. The cemetery was renamed Hollywood Memorial Park in 1939 and Hollywood Forever in 1998 after a 1990s bankruptcy and revival. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lubbock, TX
The City of Lubbock Cemetery was established in 1892 with the burial of Cochran County cowboy Henry Jenkins. It now holds more than 60,000 graves across roughly 350 acres, ranking as the third-largest cemetery in Texas. Among its most-visited graves is that of musician Buddy Holly, who died in the February 1959 plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.