Burns Station Cemetery

Duane's take

The way I tell it, this comes straight off the official marker for Burns Station Cemetery in DeWitt County. Every word of it is true, or at least as true as stone and iron can make it. Let's go back.

Way back. To 1826, when a man named Arthur Burns packed up and made the long move from Missouri and Iowa down into Texas. He joined the colony of Green DeWitt, and somewhere near this very ground he put up a two-story log home.

Two stories. Log. That's not a man who figured on leaving anytime soon.

And he was right to build it sturdy, because that house served as a refuge during Indian raids. It also had a more distinguished visitor. In 1836, General Sam Houston came calling.

Whether he stopped for long or just passed through, the marker doesn't say. But Sam Houston stood inside those log walls. Think on that a moment.

Then, on December 19, 1837, President Houston, same man, appointed Arthur Burns to the board of land commissioners for Victoria County, which at the time encompassed this whole portion of what would become DeWitt County. Burns was not a man who sat idle. He also established the area's first grist mill.

Moses Rankin operated it from 1856 to 1869, but Burns was the one who got it going. And where a mill goes, commerce follows. Around that mill rose the Sherman and Thomas General Store, Charlie White's Blacksmith Shop, and Warn Hardware.

A little world taking shape out here on Irish Creek. The settlement had started in 1826 as Irish Creek. In time it became known as Burns Station, a stage stop on the Victoria to Gonzales Road.

You can see how a place earns a name like that. In 1853, Ardelia Burns Cook, Arthur's daughter, donated the land for the cemetery that still stands here. It sat right next to the Irish Creek Methodist Church.

The oldest marked grave belongs to Joseph Allen, born in Ireland in 1812, and laid to rest in 1853. Also buried here is Sarah, Arthur Burns' widow. Arthur himself, as the marker takes care to note, is buried in Iowa.

He came a long way, built a long legacy, and went a long way back. The 1870s brought harder times for Burns Station. Thomaston and Cuero pulled business away.

But the place held on as a stop on the Gulf, West Texas and Pacific Railroad, until 1902, when the name was changed to Verhelle, honoring a railroad official. Irish Creek. Burns Station.

Verhelle. One small piece of Texas ground, carrying three names and nearly a century of stories. In 1969, relatives and the Southwest Texas Methodist Conference came together and restored this cemetery.

They thought the place was worth remembering. The marker here agrees. And so do I.

What the marker says

Reminder of De Witt County's earliest settlement, Irish Creek, begun in 1826 when Arthur Burns (1780-1856) migrated from Missouri and Iowa to Texas. He joined colony of Green DeWitt and built a 2-story log home near here. Used as a refuge during Indian raids, the house was also visited by General Sam Houston, 1836. On Dec. 19, 1837, President Houston appointed Burns to board of land commissioners, Victoria County (which then encompassed this portion of DeWitt County). Area's first grist mill (operated 1856-69 by Moses Rankin) was established by Burns. Near it clustered the Sherman and Thomas General Store, Charlie White's Blacksmith Shop, and Warn Hardware. The Irish Creek settlement became known as Burns Station, as it was a stage stop on the Victoria - Gonzales Road. Cemetery site, donated 1853 by Ardelia Burns Cook, daughter of Arthur Burns, adjoined the Irish Creek Methodist Church. In oldest marked grave lies Joseph Allen (1812-53), born in Ireland. Here also is buried Sarah, Arthur Burns' widow. (Burns is buried in Iowa). In 1870s, Burns Station lost business to Thomaston and Cuero, but was a stop on the Gulf, West Texas and Pacific Railroad until the name was changed in 1902 to "Verhelle," honoring a railroad official. Incise on back: Cemetery restored 1969 by work of relatives and the Southwest Texas Methodist conference