Blake Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Brown County, in the late nineteenth century, people were movin' in. The land was filling up, communities were taking shape, and one of those communities went by the name Hog Valley.

By 1894, the folks out there had organized the Hog Valley Baptist Church, and before long a school followed, with a proper building to go with it. Now, the Baptists and the Methodists, they shared that schoolhouse for their services, worshiping side by side until each congregation could build a permanent home of their own. That right there tells you something about the kind of people who put down roots in that part of Texas.

Then came the post office, and this is where the story takes a turn. The postmaster was a man named Wesley Ballard Jones, and when it came time to give the post office a name, he made a quiet, particular request. He asked that it be called Blake, in honor of his son.

Just that. A father, a name, a request. And after some time, the whole community, Hog Valley itself, came to be known as Blake.

The name stuck to the land. Now, every community that intends to last eventually needs a place for its dead, and Blake was no different. The first burial in the Blake Cemetery was that of Mary E.

Griffin, in 1901. Two years later, W.W. Dunn and his wife conveyed acreage to the Hog Valley Community under the school district, land set aside to be used as a cemetery.

Then in 1926, the school trustees deeded that cemetery land over to the Blake Cemetery Association, giving the place a proper stewardship. And the story of that land didn't end there. In 1984, Ann Garms deeded additional acreage, expanding what the community could hold and honor.

Walk through the Blake Cemetery today and you'll find all manner of markers. Traditional marble and granite, bronze, wood, crosses made of steel tubing standing over gravesites that had once gone unmarked, a special project of the Cemetery Association, making sure nobody gets left out of the record. And among the buried are many United States veterans, most of them marked with official military headstones, men and women who served and then came home to this corner of Brown County to live out their days.

The Blake Cemetery Association keeps on maintaining those grounds, so that future generations can come out here, read the names, and understand something true about how this piece of Texas came to be. A father honored a son. A community took the name.

And the name is still there, carved in stone.

What the marker says

In the late nineteenth century, the migration of people into Brown County grew and new communities developed, such as the Hog Valley Community. By 1894, Hog Valley Baptist Church was organized. Soon, a school was established and a building erected. Church services were held in the schoolhouse by the Baptist and Methodist congregations until permanent church homes were built. When a post office was created in Hog Valley, the postmaster, Wesley Ballard Jones, requested the name Blake for the post office in honor of his son. After some time, the Hog Valley Community became known as Blake. The first burial in the Blake Cemetery was that of Mary E. Griffin in 1901. Two years later, W.W. Dunn and his wife conveyed acreage to the Hog Valley Community under the school district to be used as a cemetery. In 1926, the school trustees deeded the cemetery land to the Blake Cemetery Association. Additional acreage was deeded in 1984 by Ann Garms. The Blake Cemetery has a variety of headstone and grave markers, including traditional marble and granite, bronze, wood and crosses made of steel tubing marking previously unmarked gravesites, a special project of the Cemetery Association. The cemetery contains the burials of many United States veterans, most marked with official military headstones. The Blake Cemetery Association continues to maintain the grounds so that future generations may learn about their ancestors and the development of this area of Brown County.