Glen Rest Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing every word straight along to you. On October 15, 1894, a group of Kerrville citizens gathered themselves together and did what communities do when they mean to last. They established Glen Rest as a community cemetery, set down near the Guadalupe River, on a piece of ground that would hold the Hill Country's history for generations to come.

S.H. Remschel sold a ten-acre tract, and the directors who took responsibility for it were A.C. Schreiner, H.

Remschel, W.G. Garrett, B.H. Ross, and Ed Smallwood.

Five names on a deed, and a whole community's future in the ground beneath their feet. Burials now number in the thousands. Thousands.

Some families have as many as five generations resting here, which means there are plots in Glen Rest where a great-great-grandparent and a great-great-grandchild share the same patch of Hill Country earth. The prominent names with more than ten family members each include Peterson, Dietert, Heimann, Rees, Moore, Schreiner, Butt, Garrett, and Leinweber. Those aren't just names on stones.

Those are the families who built Kerrville and the surrounding Hill Country, buried in the same ground they once walked. Now, here's the detail that tends to stop people in their tracks. That low rock wall running around the cemetery, native limestone, dating from the 1920s.

Some sources say the materials came from the demolished 1886 Kerr County courthouse. The old courthouse, torn down, its stones carried out here, laid into a wall around the dead. Glen Rest Cemetery is the final resting place for many pioneer and historic families of Kerrville and the surrounding Hill Country.

Some stories end. Some just keep adding names.

What the marker says

ON OCTOBER 15, 1894, A GROUP OF KERRVILLE CITIZENS ESTABLISHED GLEN REST AS A COMMUNITY CEMETERY NEAR THE GUADALUPE RIVER. S.H. REMSCHEL SOLD A TEN-ACRE TRACT TO DIRECTORS A.C. SCHREINER, H. REMSCHEL, W.G. GARRETT, B.H. ROSS AND ED SMALLWOOD. BURIALS NOW NUMBER IN THE THOUSANDS. SOME FAMILIES HAVE AS MANY AS FIVE GENERATIONS BURIED HERE. PROMINENT NAMES WITH MORE THAN TEN FAMILY MEMBERS INCLUDE PETERSON, DIETERT, HEIMANN, REES, MOORE, SCHREINER, BUTT, GARRETT AND LEINWEBER. SOME SOURCES INDICATE THAT THE LOW ROCK WALL OF NATIVE LIMESTONE, DATING FROM THE 1920s, USES MATERIALS FROM THE DEMOLISHED 1886 KERR COUNTY COURTHOUSE. GLEN REST CEMETERY IS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE FOR MANY PIONEER AND HISTORIC FAMILIES OF KERRVILLE AND THE SURROUNDING HILL COUNTRY. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY - 2018