DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker at Harwood Cemetery tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. Now, out here in Gonzales County, there's a patch of ground that's been keeping secrets since before most of Texas knew what a railroad even sounded like. The town of Harwood got its start in 1875 — platted right alongside a stop on the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad.
And when the town fathers sat down to draw up those lots, they set land aside for a cemetery. Didn't wait. Didn't hesitate.
Some things, you just plan for from the beginning. The oldest marked grave belongs to a man named I. M.
Shelton. Civil War veteran. He died April 14, 1877.
And here's where local tradition leans in close and drops its voice a little — Shelton, they say, was struck by lightning while he worked on the railroad. The very same railroad that built the town that holds his grave. Make of that what you will.
The marker doesn't say more, and neither will I. But Shelton isn't alone out there, not by a long measure. That cemetery holds veterans from the Texas Revolution, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and Korea.
Generation after generation, answering some call or another, and finding their way back to this quiet ground in Gonzales County. For decades the place endured, as cemeteries do — patient, unhurried. Then in 1957, a cemetery association was formed to maintain the site.
Somebody decided the keeping of this place was worth organizing around. Worth showing up for. The marker itself went up during the Texas Sesquicentennial — that's the celebration marking 1836 to 1986.
One hundred and fifty years of Texas history, and Harwood Cemetery had already been holding a good piece of it long before anyone thought to put up a sign.
What the marker says
The town of Harwood was founded in 1875 as a stop on the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad. Land was designated for a cemetery when town lots were platted. The oldest marked grave is that of I. M. Shelton, a Civil War veteran who died April 14, 1877. According to local tradition, Shelton was struck by lightning as the worked on the railroad. Other veterans interred here are from the Texas Revolution, the Civil War, Spanish-American war, World War I, World War II, and Korea. A cemetery association was formed in 1957 to maintain the site. Texas sesquicentennial 1836-1986.