DUANE
Duane's take
The marker at Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery is the one telling this story — and I'm just the voice passing it along. Now, every piece of ground has to start somewhere, and this one started with three local men who, back in 1888, pooled their intentions and bought land for use as a cemetery. The first burial on those grounds was that of Houston Roberts.
One name, one beginning — and from that quiet start, the story only grows. Six years later, in 1894, the Odd Fellows Lodge stepped in and bought the grounds. They weren't done there, either.
Over the years, they added land, expanding the place as the community grew and the years kept moving. Then came 1898, and a story that made headlines. Watson Whittaker was killed during a train robbery — and when word got out, the news traveled far and fast.
What followed was something people must have talked about for a long time: a funeral train brought Watson Whittaker back to Mills County, right here, for burial. A funeral train. There's a weight to that image that doesn't need any dressing up.
The Odd Fellows Lodge held those grounds for decades, all the way until 1943, when they sold the cemetery to the city. That's when it became Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery — the name it carries to this day. Local groups made improvements across the years and placed memorials honoring the sacrifice of area veterans buried within those gates.
And there it stands. A place that began with three men and a deed in 1888, that witnessed headlines and homecomings, that passed from private hands to civic care — and that now, as the marker says, provides a link to area history. Some links are made of iron.
Some are made of ground.
What the marker says
Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery In 1888, three local men bought land for use as a cemetery; the first burial was that of Houston Roberts. The Odd Fellows Lodge bought the grounds in 1894, adding land over the years. Watson Whittaker was killed during an 1898 train robbery and made headlines as a funeral train brought him to Mills County for burial here. The lodge sold the cemetery in 1943 to the city, and it became Goldthwaite Memorial Cemetery. Local groups made improvements and placed memorials to honor the sacrifice of area veterans buried here. Today, the cemetery provides a link to area history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002