Burlington Cemetery

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Burlington Cemetery. Back in 1917, the members of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Burlington looked around and saw a need. St.

Michael's Cemetery was already there, already established, serving the Catholic residents of the area. But the Lutherans, and the other non-Catholic folks of Burlington, they needed a place of their own. So the church set about getting one.

The land they chose had a history before it ever became a cemetery. It once belonged to Michael and John Jones, the founders of the town of Burlington itself. By the time the church came calling, that property had passed to a man named John Helpert, who had acquired it from the Jones family.

The church purchased it from Helpert, and just like that, Burlington Cemetery came to be. The earliest recorded interment dates to that same year, 1917, so they didn't waste any time putting the ground to its purpose. Now, cemeteries, like the communities around them, don't always stay the same.

In 1953, the Burlington Church merged with the Vogelsang Lutheran Church, and out of that union came the United Evangelical and Reformed Church of Ben Arnold. That new church took on the role of overseer for Burlington Cemetery. Then in 1957, following yet another merger, the United Church of Christ stepped in as property administrator.

The ground kept receiving the departed through all of it, steady and quiet, outlasting every institutional arrangement made in its name. Today it's the Burlington Cemetery Association that cares for and maintains the place. And it still serves Burlington area residents, along with descendants of former residents who come back to lay their people in familiar soil.

Some things, it turns out, are more permanent than the organizations built to tend them.

What the marker says

Members of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Burlington established this cemetery in 1917. Land for the cemetery once belonged to Michael and John Jones, founders of the town of Burlington. The church purchased the cemetery property from John Helpert, who acquired it from the Jones family. Neighboring St. Michael’s Cemetery had already been established for use by Catholic residents, and there was need for a burial ground to serve Lutherans and other non-Catholic residents. The earliest recorded interment here dates to 1917. The Burlington Church merged with the Vogelsang Lutheran Church in 1953, forming the United Evangelical and Reformed Church of Ben Arnold, which became overseer of the Burlington Cemetery. In 1957, following another merger, the United Church of Christ became the property administrator. The Burlington Cemetery Association now cares for and maintains the cemetery, which continues to serve as a burial ground for Burlington area residents, as well as for descendants of former residents of the community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004