Granbury Cemetery

Duane's take

Now, I'm tellin' this one straight from the official marker, so let's see what College Hill has to say for itself. There's a hill in Granbury, Hood County, that has been holdin' stories longer than the town has had a name. And I do mean that literally.

Some of the souls resting on this ground were laid to rest before the city of Granbury was even founded in 1866. The earliest stone belongs to a man named John Edwards, born 1790, died 1853. Granbury wasn't even a city yet when he went into the earth on that hill.

The place was already being called the cemetery lot before it was officially anything at all. Now here's where it gets layered. This parcel started as part of an original school land survey.

In 1885, it was deeded to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for use as a public burial ground. But some of the graves here may have been moved from the Methodist churchyard over on the courthouse square; which means nobody can say for certain whether certain burials were original to this hill or reinterrments. The ground itself isn't entirely sure who arrived first.

That's the kind of mystery that tends to settle into a cemetery and stay a while. In 1873, church leaders looked up at this same hill and decided it was the right place for something else entirely: a high school. That school grew into Granbury College by 1887.

It educated, it endured, and then it closed. When it did, the trustees deeded the school land to the city in 1915, and College Hill returned fully to its longer calling as a cemetery. The veterans buried here span more wars than most towns can claim.

John Bennett Dickson, born 1793, died 1876, was a War of 1812 veteran who was wounded in the Battle of New Orleans. He is joined by men who served in the U.S.-Mexico War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Generation after generation, this hill received them.

And then there is the name above the door, so to speak. Brigadier General Hiram B. Granbury (born 1831, died 1864) the city's namesake himself, was reinterred here in 1893.

The marker notes his surname is also recorded as Granberry. He gave this town its name, and in 1893 the town brought him home to this hill. This cemetery, designated a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2001, is a chronicle of pioneers, of families, of a town that kept burying its history on the same piece of ground long before anyone got around to officially naming it.

Some places earn their gravity slowly, one stone at a time. College Hill has had a long head start.

What the marker says

Granbury Cemetery Part of an original school land survey, this parcel was already known as "the cemetery lot" when deeded to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1885 for use as a public burial ground. A number of the stones here pre-date the 1866 founding of the city of Granbury, the earliest being that of John Edwards (1790-1853). Graves reportedly moved to this site from the Methodist churchyard on the courthouse square make it difficult to know whether some burials were original to the site or were reinterrments. In 1873, church leaders chose this hill as the location for a high school that became Granbury College in 1887. Following its closing, trustees deeded the school land to the city in 1915, allowing for College Hill's full usage as a cemetery. At rest here is War of 1812 veteran John Bennett Dickson (1793-1876), who was wounded in the Battle of New Orleans. He is joined by other veterans from the U.S.-Mexico War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Brigadier General Hiram B. Granbury (1831-1864), the city's namesake, was reinterred here in 1893; his surname is also recorded as Granberry. This cemetery chronicles the pioneers and generations of families who are the Granbury area's rich heritage. Historic Texas Cemetery-2001