Fairview Cemetery

The story

Originally the Howeth Family Cemetery, this site traces its history to 1854, when a tornado struck the Howeth family cabin near Gainesville. First buried here were Thomas and Louisa Howeth, young children of William and Harriet Bell Howeth. William Howeth deeded the ten-acre cemetery to Cooke county in 1868.

In 1878 the Cooke County commissioners turned over the site to the city of Gainesville in a 999-year lease. A city ordinance reserved a section for freedmen. The cemetery's name was changed in 1897 to East Hill, and in 1904 the name was changed again to Fairview.

A separate Jewish Cemetery adjoined this site from 1881 until 1964 when the two graveyards were combined. Among the estimated 18,000 graves are those of Civil War veterans; Preston Conlee, a San Jacinto Battle veteran and Bastrop County sheriff who lies in an unmarked grave; 34 victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic; Bob Scott, ex-slave and centenarian; and former U.S. Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey.

A chapel and Sexton's office, designed by Dallas architect Will Scott Richter, was constructed in 1938 at a cost of $6,296. The arched gate dates to 1964. This Victorian-era cemetery continues to serve the city. (1997)