Highland Cemetery

Duane's take

The way I tell it, I'm drawing straight from the official marker for Highland Cemetery, right here in Van Zandt County. So let's sit with this one a while. By 1894, a burial ground had already taken root in the Highland community.

That's where this story ends, and also, in a way, where it begins. But to understand the cemetery, you've got to understand the land it grew from. Back in the 1880s, pioneering farmers were settlin' the area.

What made that possible was the construction of a road, one that gave those farmers easier access to markets. You put a road through country like this, and people follow. Fields get cleared, families put down roots, and a community starts to take shape.

Then came a moment that said this place was here to stay. In 1889, John and Elizabeth Valentine deeded property for a school building. And this wasn't just a school.

That building would also serve as a place of worship for Methodist and Church of Christ congregations. One building carrying the weight of learning and faith both. Now, a building like that doesn't rise without people willing to make it happen.

The marker names them, and they deserve to be named: J. J. Bateman, D.

J. Newborn, Z. B.

Daugherty, W. H. Palmer, U.

L. Martin, John Hall, Joe Hamlet, and John Valentine himself. Community leaders, every one.

Instrumental in establishing a school community and in constructing that first building. The school moved on in 1921. Schools do that.

Communities grow, needs shift. But the original site, that ground John and Elizabeth Valentine had deeded, it kept its purpose. Just a different one.

It continued to be used as a burial ground. And the oldest dated burial there takes us back to 1894. That's Grover Dillard, resting at the beginning of the record.

Alongside him, over the years, came veterans of conflicts dating all the way back to the Civil War, and Highland pioneers from families whose names echo through the whole story of this place: Bateman, Batts, Hall, Palmer, Martin, Thompson. Many of the interred were farmers. The marker makes a point of saying that, and it matters, because the land itself tells you the same story if you're paying attention.

At first, cotton was the primary crop. That was the engine of this community in its early days. But by the late 1930s, tomatoes had become the main crop.

Farmers were also producing sweet potatoes, watermelons, other fruits and vegetables. This was working ground, tended by working people. Then the land shifted its story again.

By the late 1950s, hay and cattle had become major industries, here in Highland and throughout Van Zandt County. Out in the cemetery itself, the ground holds more than names. There are obelisks, vertical stones, a Woodmen of the World marker, and curbing.

Markers that speak to fraternal ties, to families who wanted something that would last. In 1959, the Highland Memorial Association organized to care for the cemetery. Someone had to make sure the place endured, and someone did.

Today, Highland Cemetery is described as one of the few remaining vestiges of the Highland community. The school is gone. The congregation buildings are gone.

The cotton fields gave way to tomatoes, and the tomato fields gave way to hay and cattle. But the cemetery holds its ground. There's something about a burial ground that a community can't quite let go of.

Even when everything else moves on, this stays. And in Van Zandt County, it still does.

What the marker says

Established by 1894, this burial ground serves the Highland community. In the 1880s, pioneering farmers settled the area after construction of a road which allowed easier access to markets. In 1889, John and Elizbaeth Valentine deeded property for a school building, which would also serve as a place of worship for Methodist and Church of Christ congregations. Community leaders instrumental in establishing a school community and in constructing the first building included J. J. Bateman, D. J. Newborn, Z. B. Daugherty, W. H. Palmer, U. L. Martin, John Hall and Joe Hamlet, along with John Valentine. The school moved in 1921, but the original site continued to be used as a burial ground. The oldest dated burial here, dating to 1894, is of Grover Dillard. Also buried here are veterans of conflicts dating to the Civil War and Highland pioneers, including members of the Bateman, Batts, Hall, Palmer, Martin and Thompson families. Many of the interred were farmers, reflecting the rural nature of the settlement. At first, cotton was the area's primary crop; by the late 1930s, tomatoes became the main crop. Farmers also produced sweet potatoes, watermelons, and other fruits and vegetables. By the late 1950s, hay and cattle became major industries in this area, as throughout Van Zandt County. Highland Cemetery features obelisks, vertical stones, a Woodmen of the World marker and curbing. In 1959, Highland Memorial Association organized to care for the cemetery. Today, this cemetery endures as one of the few remaining vestiges of the Highland community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2006