Chalk Mountain Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Chalk Mountain Cemetery, out in Somervell County. Now, before there was much of anything else out here, there was Chalk Mountain. The village got its start as a trading center, and that was before the Civil War even came along to change everything.

Every community that puts down roots eventually puts down something else, too. And the only burial ground that ever served Chalk Mountain is the cemetery that bears its name. The earliest marked burial belongs to Abigal Davis, who passed in 1874.

But here's the thing the marker is careful to tell you: there are unmarked graves out there, which means this ground may have been receiving the dead even before Abigal Davis arrived. Now, one name stands above the rest when it comes to this cemetery's story. Hiram Berry Rogers, born in 1840, died in 1929, a Confederate veteran who outlasted nearly everyone he ever knew.

In 1915, Rogers deeded the cemetery to the county. Just handed it over. Some men build monuments to themselves.

Rogers gave something away. More than three hundred and fifty graves rest here now, including Rogers himself. Veterans of the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War are all interred on this ground.

Generation after generation, answering one call or another, and finding their way back to Chalk Mountain in the end. Since 1959, a cemetery association has kept watch over all of it. There's a long tradition in Texas of trading posts turning into towns, and towns turning into memories.

But as long as somebody's cutting the grass and straightening the stones out at Chalk Mountain Cemetery, this particular memory isn't going anywhere.

What the marker says

The village of Chalk Mountain originated as a trading center before the Civil War. The earliest burial at Chalk Mountain Cemetery, the only burial ground to have served this community, is that of Abigal Davis (d. 1874), but the presence of unmarked burials indicates possible earlier use. Confederate veteran Hiram Berry Rogers (1840-1929) deeded the cemetery to the county in 1915. Over 350 graves, including those of Rogers and veterans of the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War, are interred here. It has been maintained by a cemetery association since 1959. (1991)