Hidalgo City Cemetery

Duane's take

The way the official marker tells it, here's the story of the Hidalgo City Cemetery. Now, every piece of ground has a beginning, and this one begins in 1884. That's the year the oldest grave marker dates to, belonging to a man named Elder B.

Barton, born in 1815 and laid to rest in 1884. Whatever roads he traveled, whatever years he carried, Elder B. Barton was the first to mark this ground as something lasting.

The cemetery itself is tucked inside what became known as Pate's Addition to the Town of Hidalgo, a 46.4 acre development put together in 1926 by a man named Joe Pate. But the story doesn't end with Joe. Years later, in 1963, his wife Kate donated another 1.28 acres specifically for cemetery use.

That's the kind of generosity that doesn't make headlines, but it shapes a community for generations. Walk through those grounds today and you'll find more than 1,000 graves. The markers themselves tell you something about the people.

Some are homemade, cast concrete blocks, rough and honest. Others are wooden crosses, wrought iron crosses, even PVC pipe crosses. Some are manufactured monuments, polished and formal.

And scattered among them, you'll find bovedas, large above-ground crypts, along with slab-covered graves and curbing that speak to the deep and enduring Mexican influences woven into this community's fabric. Then there are the veterans. Numerous veterans are buried here, with service ranging from the Texas Revolution all the way to modern conflicts.

That's a long stretch of American history lying quiet in a single piece of Hidalgo County earth. Today, the Hidalgo Parks and Streets Department maintains the cemetery, keeping watch over more than a thousand stories that stretch from 1884 to the present day. Elder B.

Barton came first. More than a thousand souls followed. And the ground keeps count.

What the marker says

This historic graveyard dates from 1884, with its oldest grave marker being that of Elder B. Barton (1815-1884). The cemetery was included in the 46.4 acre Pate’s Addition to the Town of Hidalgo, developed in 1926 by Joe Pate. His wife, Kate, donated another 1.28 acres for cemetery use in 1963. Numerous veterans are buried here, with service from the Texas Revolution to modern conflicts. Grave markers vary from homemade cast concrete blocks and wooden, wrought iron, and PVC pipe crosses to manufactured monuments. Several large bovedas (above-ground crypts), slab-covered graves and curbing attest to predominant Mexican influences. There are currently more than 1,000 graves. The Hidalgo Parks and Streets Department maintains the cemetery. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2008