Clark Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Clark Cemetery, out in Caldwell County. Now settle in, because this one starts long before a single shovel broke that ground. James E.

Clark came into this world in North Carolina, back in 1826. That's a long way from the Texas hill country, in more ways than one. But he made his way here, the way a lot of folks did, one county at a time.

He landed in Bastrop County long enough to find something worth staying for, and in 1860 he married Mary E. Roberts. That's the kind of decision that tends to anchor a man.

Come January of 1881, James bought land in this very area, and whatever he saw in it, he saw enough. He and Mary put down roots the old-fashioned way. They raised nine children on that ground.

Nine. You want to talk about commitment to a place, that'll do it. Then in 1884, James Clark did something that tells you the measure of the man.

He set aside a portion of that land, not for crops, not for cattle, but for a school and a family cemetery. He was thinkin' about the future, and he was thinkin' about the ones who'd come after. In 1898, James himself was buried there, and his grave is the first marked in that cemetery.

The most recent burial dates all the way to the 1950s, which means generation after generation kept faith with this piece of ground. Now here's the part that lands just right. Today, that family cemetery sits right next to a community center, built on the very site of that school James carved out back in 1884.

The school is gone, but the ground it stood on kept serving people. Two things side by side, a place for the living and a place for remembrance, both of them quiet reminders of what the Clarks built and what they gave to this stretch of Texas.

What the marker says

Clark Cemetery James E. Clark was born in North Carolina in 1826. He later moved to Texas, marrying Mary E. Roberts in Bastrop County in 1860. In January 1881, he bought land in this area. Here, he and Mary reared nine children. In 1884, James set aside land for a school and a family cemetery. He was buried here in 1898, and his grave is the first marked in the cemetery. The most recent burial dates to the 1950s. Today the family cemetery is adjacent to a community center established at the site of the former school. Both serve as reminders of the Clark family and their contributions to area history and growth. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002