Evergreen Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The Evergreen Cemetery, out in Lamar County, is the kind of place that holds a whole county's worth of stories in the ground. And the reason it exists at all comes down to a simple problem that fast-growing towns tend to run into.

The old cemetery of Paris sat near the center of town, and by the time the area really started filling up, that cemetery had filled up too. So in 1866, the Evergreen Cemetery Association was chartered by well-known community leaders, for the purpose of purchasing land to serve as a proper resting place for the people of Paris and Lamar County. They made their first purchase from a man named George Wright, sixteen acres to start.

Then, as the years rolled on, additional tracts came in, 1893, then 1907, then 1956 and again in 1957. The cemetery grew the way the county did. Steadily, and with intention.

Now, the first burial at Evergreen is attributed to Lucy Pope Maxey, born in 1794 and gone by 1866. And here is where the marker drops a name worth leaning into. Lucy Pope Maxey was the mother of Samuel Bell Maxey.

West Point graduate. Confederate General. United States Senator.

His wife, Marilda C. Maxey, born 1833, passed in 1908, she rests here too. And Samuel Bell Maxey himself, born 1825, died 1895, is among the eleven incorporators of the very cemetery association that chartered this ground.

Think on that for a moment. A man helps found a cemetery, and the cemetery ends up holdin' him. He wasn't the only incorporator buried here, not by a long stretch.

Dr. Alfred Simpson Johnson, born 1814, died 1881. Albert J.

Redding, born 1821, died 1900. William Bramlette, born 1851, died 1908. And then there's Willet C.

Babcock, born 1828, died 1881, another incorporator, and the man whose monument has become something of a legend. They call it the Jesus in Cowboy Boots monument, and it draws visitors from across the nation. Now that is the kind of detail that makes you slow down when you're walking through a cemetery.

But Babcock's monument isn't the only remarkable thing carved into this ground. The stonecutting art throughout Evergreen Cemetery is something else entirely. Angelic figures, religious imagery, flowers and vines.

Cotton bales. Broken trees. Anchors and chains.

Sheep. A life-size buffalo. And, of all things, a replica of the front page of the Paris Morning News.

Whoever those stonecutters were, they weren't just marking graves. They were telling stories. And that, really, is what Evergreen Cemetery is.

Sixteen acres that became more, chartered in 1866, holding the mother and the senator and the incorporators and the man with the cowboy boots monument and the stonework that stops you cold. The final resting place for many notable citizens of Paris and Lamar County, and a reflection, says the marker, of the growth and rich history of this corner of Texas. Some places hold history in documents.

This one holds it in stone.

What the marker says

The Evergreen Cemetery is the final resting place for many notable citizens of Paris and Lamar County. Due to the steady growth of the area, the old cemetery of Paris, located near the center of town, quickly became too small. In 1866, the Evergreen Cemetery Association was chartered by well-known community leaders to purchase land for cemetery purposes. After the initial purchase of sixteen acres from George Wright, additional tracts were acquired in 1893, 1907, 1956 and 1957. The first burial is attributed to Lucy Pope Maxey (1794-1866), the mother of Samuel Bell Maxey, a West Point graduate, Confederate General and United States Senator. His wife, Marilda C. Maxey (1833-1908) is also buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Most of the cemetery’s eleven incorporators are buried here, including Samuel Bell Maxey (1825-1895), Dr. Alfred Simpson Johnson (1814-1881), Albert J. Redding (1821-1900) and William Bramlette (1851-1908). Another incorporator buried here is Willet C. Babcock (1828-1881). His “Jesus in Cowboy Boots” monument attracts visitors from across the nation. Examples of the unique stonecutting art within the cemetery include a bevy of angelic figures and religious imagery, flowers, vines, cotton bales, broken trees, anchors and chains, sheep, a life-size buffalo and a replica of the front page of the Paris Morning News. This historic cemetery reflects the growth and rich history of Paris and Lamar County.