Harris Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Harris Cemetery in San Saba County. Now settle in, because this little patch of ground has been keeping secrets longer than most folks realize. The burial ground was apparently already in use in 1874.

Already. That word does a lot of work. It means when A.J. and Ellen Crawford sat down to deed this land to trustees D.A.

Harris, A.J. Wells, James Wayland, F. Brookerson, and W.L.

Adams, the ground had already started its quiet business. The Crawfords handed over a five-acre site, and the vision was a practical one: a school and a place of worship, the two things a frontier community needed most. But the cemetery came along for the ride, and in the end, it's the cemetery that's still standing.

Now, the earliest dated grave belongs to N.M. Baker, born 1819, died 1877. That stone is the oldest timestamp the ground will officially give up.

But there's another stone here with a story that goes sideways before it goes straight. The marker for James L. Crawford carries the year 1868.

James L. was A.J. Crawford's father, and his stone originally stood in the nearby Crawford-Whitehurst Cemetery. Then a flood came through.

The stone was relocated here. His remains, though, were lost. So the stone made the journey.

The man, in a manner of speaking, did not. There's something that sticks with you about that. A grave marker without its grave, standing in borrowed ground, reminding San Saba County of something it can't quite hold onto anymore.

Harris Cemetery is maintained by an association today, and it continues to serve the community, just as it was intended to back when A.J. and Ellen Crawford put pen to paper. Some places just keep their promises.

What the marker says

This burial ground was apparently already in use in 1874 when A.J. and Ellen Crawford deeded it to trustees D.A. harris, A.J. Wells, James Wayland, F. Brookerson and W.L. Adams as part of a five-acre site to be used for a school and place of worship. The earliest dated grave is that of N.M. Baker (1819-1877). The 1868 stone of James L. Crawford, A.J. Crawford's father, was relocated here from nearby Crawford-Whitehurst Cemetery after a flood but his remains are lost. A physical reminder of early San Saba County history, Harris Cemetery is maintained by an association and continues to serve the community. Historic Texas Cemetery – 2000