Athens Cemetery

Duane's take

The official marker for Athens Cemetery in Henderson County is the source of this story, and I'll do my best to honor it. Now, every old town has a place where the full weight of its history finally comes to rest. For Athens, Texas, that place is this cemetery, and its story starts with a little controversy, as so many good stories do.

Back in 1857, citizens petitioned to close an unofficial burial ground operating in this area, in what was recorded as Large Lot 13. And close it did, that same year. But 1857 wasn't just an ending.

It was a beginning too. Because that very year, local residents buried a prominent planter, Mason, and school superintendent named William J. Brantley right here, on one acre of land donated by a man named Pleasant Tannehill to Masonic Lodge No. 165.

One acre, donated outright, to start something that would outlast everyone involved by generations. Now, right alongside that Masonic plot, adjoining land was set aside for the interment of a girl named Ward, who could not be buried in the Masons' Cemetery. The marker doesn't tell us why.

It simply tells us she needed a place, and someone made sure she had one. Two burial grounds, side by side, and in time, they simply joined, the way such things do when the living stop keeping score. From there, the cemetery grew through the generosity of a few steady hands.

Nathaniel Pope Coleman, Joseph Marion la Rue, and Joseph Thomas la Rue each donated land that added to what is now known as the pioneer section of this cemetery. Their names, and their years, are recorded: Coleman from 1823 to 1888, Joseph Marion la Rue from 1825 to 1887, and Joseph Thomas la Rue from 1864 to 1930. The story doesn't stop there.

In 1922, an association was established, and it bought an additional twelve acres from Matthias E. Richardson, Jr., who had lived from 1850 to 1919. The front portion of that new land was designated as a park.

And then in 1959, a trust initiated by Sid Williams Richardson, born in 1891 and gone that same year of 1959, stepped in to help fund the site's upkeep going forward. A final act of care from a man who understood what this ground meant. What rests here, beneath the trees in Athens, is the accumulated story of a city.

Chronicled in this cemetery are the generations that forged the rich heritage of the City of Athens, along with veterans of the Indian wars, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Every era of struggle this country has known, somebody from Athens answered the call, and came home to rest here. One unofficial plot, closed by petition in 1857.

One donated acre. A girl named Ward who needed a place beside the Masons. And from those quiet beginnings, an entire community found its ground.

What the marker says

Athens Cemetery After citizens petitioned for its closure, an unofficial burial ground in this area (Large Lot 13) closed in 1857. That same year, local residents buried prominent planter, Mason and school superintendent William J. Brantley here on one acre donated by Pleasant Tannehill to Masonic Lodge No. 165. Adjoining land was set aside for the interment of a girl, named Ward, who could not be buried in the Masons' Cemetery. The two adjacent burial grounds eventually joined, and further donations of land by Nathaniel Pope Coleman (1823-1888), Joseph Marion la Rue (1825-1887) and Joseph Thomas la Rue (1864-1930) added to what is now known as the pioneer section of this cemetery. An association established in 1922 bought an additional 12 acres from Matthias E. Richardson, Jr. (1850-1919), designating the front portion as a park. A trust initiated in 1959 by Sid Williams Richardson (1891-1959) continues to help fund the site's upkeep. Chronicled here are the generations that forged the rich heritage of the City of Athens, along with veterans of the Indian wars, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002