Houston Cemetery Company

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Houston Cemetery Company — and the ground it gave rise to. Pull up a chair, because this one starts with business and ends somewhere a whole lot quieter and a whole lot prettier than you might expect. Houston, not long after the Civil War, had a certain kind of energy to it — the kind where business leaders were chartering associations left and right, looking to lift the city up through civic, cultural, and economic improvements.

The Houston Cemetery Company was one of those chartered and private associations, and the state of Texas made it official on May 12, 1871. Now, their stated mission was to establish a rural cemetery with beauty and integrity. That's a phrase worth sitting with — beauty and integrity.

They weren't just looking for a patch of ground. They wanted something to mean something. So they set about finding a name to match that ambition.

Several names were considered — and here's a detail I enjoy — stockholders and directors finally settled the question the democratic way, by ballot. The name they chose was Glenwood. The first burial at Glenwood Cemetery occurred on June 19, 1872.

What the Houston Cemetery Company had in mind was something called the country cemetery plan — a design tradition first used in the eastern and northern United States back in the 1830s, and Glenwood stands as an early Texas example of it. The directors selected property situated between Buffalo Bayou and Washington Avenue, land interspersed with springs and gullies, exactly the kind of terrain most folks would call inconvenient and these folks called perfect. The whole pastoral vision is still there in the rambling walks and drives that follow curvilinear sections laid out around a wooded glen and a bridge over a spring-fed gully.

And here's the part that genuinely surprises people — before Houston had a single public park to its name, Houstonians were coming out to Glenwood Cemetery as a place of relaxation and recreation. Sam Houston Park, Houston's first public park, didn't arrive until 1899. So for years, this was it.

The most beautiful open ground in the city, and it happened to be a cemetery. The Houston Cemetery Company eventually reorganized as the Glenwood Cemetery Association in 1904, and that Association was later succeeded by Glenwood Cemetery, Inc., in 1969. Then in 1999, the Glenwood Cemetery Historic Preservation Foundation was formed to look after the monuments and grounds of this landmark for the long haul.

A company chartered to create beauty and integrity in 1871 — and more than a century and a half later, people are still showing up to make sure it stays that way. Some things, once you build them right, just refuse to let go.

What the marker says

The Houston Cemetery Company was one of several chartered and private associations promoted by Houston business leaders for the purpose of effecting civic, cultural and economic improvements following the Civil War. Houston Cemetery Company was chartered as a private cemetery company by the state of Texas on May 12, 1871, and the company set out to establish a rural cemetery with beauty and integrity. Several names for the new cemetery were considered, but stockholders and directors finally chose by ballot the name “Glenwood.” The first burial at Glenwood cCmetery occurred on june 19, 1872. Glenwood Cemetery is an early Texas example of the country cemetery plan first used in the eastern and northern United States in the 1830s. Directors selected property situated between Buffalo Bayou and Washington Avenue interspersed with springs and gullies to achieve the desired pastoral setting. The intended park-like landscape design is reflected in the rambling walks and drives that follow the curvilinear sections situated around a wooded glen and a bridge over a spring-fed gully. The beautiful setting drew Houstonians to Glenwood Cemetery as a place of relaxation and recreation prior to the 1899 establishment of Houston’s first public park, Sam Houston park. The Houston Cemetery Company reorganized as the Glenwood Cemetery Association in 1904, and the Association was succeeded by Glenwood Cemetery, Inc., in 1969. The Glenwood Cemetery Historic Preservation foundation was formed in 1999 to preserve the historic heritage of the monuments and grounds of this important Houston landmark.