DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Cedar Hill Cemetery in Cherokee County. Now settle in, because this one's been a long time coming — a hundred and seventy-some-odd years of stories pressed into one hillside south of Rusk. Cedar Hill Cemetery was established in 1847 as the city cemetery, sitting right at the south edge of Rusk in Cherokee County, perched atop a hill and wrapped on all sides by a dense forest.
You get the sense, driving up on it, that the land chose the purpose before anyone did. And those massive cedar trees on the north side — the old section, they call it — well, that's where the name comes from, plain and simple. Cedar Hill.
The trees earned it. Some of Rusk's oldest and most prominent residents have stone monuments here — the Bonner family, the Long family, Miller, Perkins, and Smith. Names that meant something when this part of Texas was still figuring out what it was going to be.
And alongside them, early pioneers, the kind of folks who didn't leave much behind except the fact that they showed up and stayed. Now, before we go any further, I want to tell you about one family in particular — the Cobbles — because they're the kind of story Cedar Hill was made to hold. Thomas H.
Cobble moved to Texas in 1844 and built the first brick business building in Rusk. First one. The man wasn't just passing through; he was putting down something meant to last.
And last it did — because generations later, his grandson, Dr. Thomas H. Cobble, became a notable Rusk doctor and chief of staff of Rusk Memorial Hospital in 1949.
Same name, same town, a whole era apart. That's what westward expansion looked like up close — not just a wave of movement, but families planting themselves so deep their grandchildren grew up to lead institutions. The marker calls the Cobbles illustrative of common pioneer families who traveled through early Texas during that westward push, and I think that word — illustrative — does a lot of quiet work.
They're a picture of something much larger. Now, the cemetery's land has its own story too. Before 1917, B.F. and Lucy Vining, landowners in Cherokee County, created the west and south additions to the cemetery property.
Then in 1929, Vining heirs sold the rest of their land to the Rusk Cemetery Association. Piece by piece, the hill grew into what it is today. And what it holds is considerable.
Many war veterans are buried at Cedar Hill — at least twenty-six Confederate soldiers, two Spanish-American War veterans, seventeen WWI veterans, twenty-nine WWII veterans, and both Korean and Vietnam War veterans. You read that list and the hill gets heavier. Different wars, different generations, same ground.
The markers themselves are something to see — metal, stone-like tree trunks, ornate obelisks, a brick crypt. A whole vocabulary of grief and remembrance carved in different hands across different centuries. Cedar Hill Cemetery, the marker says, is a significant reminder of the early settlement of Texas and the West.
And standing there on that wooded hill at the south edge of Rusk, with the cedars holding their silence and all those names looking back at you — well, it's hard to argue with that.
What the marker says
Established in 1847 as the city cemetery, Cedar Hill Cemetery is located at the south edge of Rusk in Cherokee County, atop a hill surrounded by a dense forest. Some of Rusk’s oldest and most prominent residents have stone monuments in Cedar Hill such as the Bonner, Long, Miller, Perkins and Smith families. The cemetery is also the burial site for early pioneers. Prior to 1917, B.F. and Lucy Vining, land owners in Cherokee County, created the west and south additions to the cemetery property. In 1929, Vining heirs sold the rest of their land to the rusk cemetery association. The “old section” or north side of the cemetery is filled with massive cedar trees, hence the name Cedar Hill Cemetery. Many war veterans are buried at Cedar Hill, including at least 26 Confederate soldiers, two Spanish-American war veterans, 17 WWI veterans, 29 WWII veterans, and both Korean and Vietnam War veterans. The cemetery has a variety of markers made of different materials and architectural designs. This includes markers made of metal, stone-like tree trunks, ornate obelisks, and a brick crypt. A notable family that is buried in Cedar Hill is the Cobble family. They are illustrative of common pioneer families who traveled through early Texas during westward expansion. Thomas H. Cobble moved to Texas in 1844 and built the first brick business building in Rusk. His grandson, Dr. Thomas H. Cobble, became a notable Rusk doctor and chief of staff of Rusk Memorial Hospital in 1949. The pioneer family burials in Cedar Hill Cemetery are significant reminders of the early settlement of Texas and the West.