DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll carry it the rest of the way for you. Out on the rolling ground of Collin County, there's a patch of earth that has been holding the stories of whole communities since 1881. The Altoga Cemetery.
And when I say communities, I mean it plural — because this place never belonged to just one town. It served the Altoga area, yes, but also what was once the Johnson community to the south, and the Ardath community to the west. Three separate corners of the county, all finding their way to the same quiet ground.
The earliest recorded burials tell you something right away about the weight this land has carried. First comes little Ida Leomy Parker — three years old — laid to rest in July of 1881. Then Elizabeth Humbard Mantooth, in November of that same year.
The very first year. You don't forget numbers like those. Now, a man named William Mantooth — you'll notice that name — donated one and one-third acres of land for the cemetery in 1894.
Later on, another two and one-third acres were added to the site. The ground kept growing because it had to. Communities have a way of needing more room as the years stack up.
Then comes August of 1914, and something worth remarkin' on. Local men raised their hands and their hammers and built a tabernacle on the grounds — a place to be used for funerals. Now, they didn't just pass a hat around.
The Woodmen of the World organized the fundraising, and they did it the way folks out here knew how: ice cream socials and pie suppers. You think about that for a second. Men building a house for the dead, funded by summer evenings and a good slice of pie.
There's something very Texas about that. That tabernacle is still standing. And every May, it still fills up — for the observance of Decoration Day.
More than a hundred years later, and the tradition holds. The cemetery itself holds more than 720 graves, about 40 of them unmarked. Early settlers.
Their families. And veterans — from the Civil War, both Confederate and Union soldiers buried on the same ground, alongside veterans of World War I, World War II, and the Korean conflict. That's a long march of American history pressed into one and one-third acres grown to three and two-thirds.
The Altoga Cemetery Association formed in 1971 to make sure none of this slips away. They maintain the grounds through a perpetual care trust — because perpetual is exactly what this place intends to be. It has served the area for more than a century.
Started with a three-year-old girl in the summer of 1881, built itself up ice cream social by ice cream social, and it's still there. Still serving. Some things, once rooted, just don't let go of the ground.
What the marker says
This cemetery has served the Altoga area since 1881, including what was once the Johnson community to the south and the Ardath community to the west. The earliest recorded burials are those of three-year-old Ida Leomy Parker in July 1881 and Elizabeth Humbard Mantooth in November 1881. William Mantooth donated one and one-third acres of land for the cemetery in 1894. Another two and one-third acres were later added to the site. A tabernacle to be used for funerals was erected in August 1914. It was built by local men with funds raised by the Woodmen of the World with events such as ice cream socials and pie suppers. The tabernacle is still used each May for observance of Decoration Day. The cemetery contains more than 720 graves, including about 40 unmarked graves. Buried here are early settlers to the area, their families, and veterans of the Civil War (both Confederate and Union soldiers), World War I, World War II, and the Korean conflict. The Altoga Cemetery Association, formed in 1971, maintains the grounds through a perpetual care trust. The graveyard continues to serve the area as it has for more than a century. (1997)