Henderson City Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for the Henderson City Cemetery, right out of Rusk County, Texas. Pull over if you need to. This one's got some history in it.

They believe this is the oldest established cemetery in Henderson, rooted somewhere in the mid-1840s, sitting on land that traces back to the 1845 W.F. Johnson Survey. Now, if you want to go hunting for the original deed records, I'll save you the trouble.

A courthouse fire in 1878 took care of those. Gone. So there are things about this ground we simply cannot know anymore.

What we do know is this: the first identifiable marked grave belongs to William H. Still, who died on July 1, 1851. But the marker is careful to tell you that burials from much earlier dates are likely.

William H. Still may have the first marked stone, but he was almost certainly not the first person laid to rest here. The ground holds older secrets than it lets on.

Now here's something the marker does not let you gloss over. Over half of this cemetery served the African American community of Henderson. More than half.

Buried here is merchant Mack Biggers, born 1879, died 1947. Businessman Mose Reedy, born 1855, died 1950. Veterinarian Dr.

George W. Ross, born 1865, died 1943. And many other descendants of that Black community, the marker says, resting in the same ground as legislators and university presidents.

A wrought iron fence once separated the Black and white sections of the cemetery. That fence has been removed. The marker states it plainly, and so will I.

Among the other noted burials: two presidents of Texas A&M University, Thomas S. Gathright and Robert Teague Milner. Former judges.

Former legislators. And Timothy Pilsbury, born 1789, died 1859, a man who managed to be a soldier, a sea captain, a legislator, AND a jurist inside one lifetime. That is a resume.

Then there's Archie A. Beall, born 1884, died 1940, a founder of Bealls Department Store. And buried in an unmarked grave, Frank Bowden, described as a noted orator and Alabama congressman from the 1840s.

No stone marks the spot. Just the record, and now this marker, keeping his name from vanishing entirely. The landscape itself carries a mood.

Magnolia trees and crepe myrtles scattered across the grounds, the marker says it's reminiscent of the old South. It's the kind of place that makes you slow your breathing a little. Soldiers buried here fought in every U.S. war from the War of 1812 all the way through Vietnam.

Generation after generation, called away, and brought back here to rest. Cemetery associations have come and gone over the years. One existed in 1895.

The current cemetery board was appointed in 2002, and it continues to care for the place. All that history, and a courthouse fire in 1878 still sitting at the center of it, reminding you that some things, once lost, stay lost. What's left is what the ground remembers, and what the stones say.

And sometimes, what the stones don't say.

What the marker says

THE OLD CITY CEMETERY, BELIEVED TO BE THE OLDEST ESTABLISHED IN HENDERSON IN THE MID-1840s, IS SITUATED ON LAND THAT ORIGINATES FROM THE 1845 W.F. JOHNSON SURVEY. THE ORIGINAL DEED RECORDS ARE NOT AVAILABLE DUE TO A FIRE IN THE COURTHOUSE IN 1878. THE FIRST IDENTIFIABLE MARKED GRAVE IS THAT OF WILLIAM H. STILL WHO DIED ON JULY 1, 1851, ALTHOUGH BURIALS FROM MUCH EARLIER DATES ARE LIKELY. OVER HALF OF THE CEMETERY SERVED THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF HENDERSON. BURIED HERE ARE MERCHANT MACK BIGGERS (1879-1947), BUSINESSMAN MOSE REEDY (1855-1950), VETERINARIAN DR. GEORGE W. ROSS (1865-1943) AND MANY OTHER DESCENDANTS OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY. THE WROUGHT IRON FENCE THAT SEPARATED THE BLACK AND WHITE SECTIONS OF THE CEMETERY HAS BEEN REMOVED. OTHER NOTED BURIALS INCLUDE TWO TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS, THOMAS S. GATHRIGHT AND ROBERT TEAGUE MILNER, AND FORMER JUDGES AND LEGISLATORS. TIMOTHY PILSBURY (1789-1859), A SOLDIER, SEA CAPTAIN, LEGISLATOR AND JURIST, IS ALSO BURIED HERE. A FOUNDER OF BEALLS DEPARTMENT STORE, ARCHIE A. BEALL (1884-1940), IS ALSO AMONG THE BURIALS. BURIED IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE IS FRANK BOWDEN, A NOTED ORATOR AND ALABAMA CONGRESSMAN FROM THE 1840s. THE LANDSCAPE OF THIS HISTORIC CEMETERY IS REMINISCENT OF THE OLD SOUTH WITH MAGNOLIA TREES AND CREPE MYRTLES SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE GROUNDS. THE HENDERSON CITY CEMETERY CONTAINS THE REMAINS OF SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT IN ALL U.S. WARS FROM THE WAR OF 1812 TO THE VIETNAM WAR. CEMETERY ASSOCIATIONS HAVE COME AND GONE OVER THE YEARS WITH ONE IN EXISTENCE IN 1895. THE CURRENT CEMETERY BOARD WAS APPOINTED IN 2002 AND CONTINUES TO CARE FOR THE CEMETERY.