King Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Out here in Coryell County, there's a piece of ground that was already holding the departed long before anyone thought to put a name on a deed. King Cemetery.

The land wasn't formally deeded until 1880, and when it was, it went to what was then known as the Stringtown Baptist Church, set aside for church and school purposes. But the ground had already been doing its quiet work well before that paperwork ever dried. A number of graves here date back to 1873.

And here's the thing that'll give you pause. The unmarked burials may go back even further. How much further?

Nobody left a record. The land remembers, even when the stones don't. Now, a place like this doesn't survive on its own.

It takes people. Residents of King and nearby communities gave their time and their money over the years to see that this ground stayed kept, stayed dignified. And then in 1960, something more lasting took shape.

An association was established, organized, and put to work providing the maintenance and improvements the cemetery needed. That's how a community says: we're not done caring. Today, descendants of the people resting here contribute to a trust fund, making sure the dignity of this site carries forward.

Because that's what King Cemetery is, when you get down to it. It's a chronicle. Pioneers and generations of the King area, layered into this soil, some marked, some not, all of them part of the story this ground has been keeping since before the deed, before the church had its name on paper, maybe before anyone was counting the years at all.

What the marker says

This site was in use as a burial ground well before it was formally deeded in 1880 for church and school purposes to what was then known as the Stringtown Baptist Church. A number of graves date to 1873, but unmarked burials may be earlier. Residents of King and nearby communities contributed their time and money to care for the cemetery over the years, and an association established in 1960 has organized this effort, providing for needed maintenance and improvements. Today, descendants contribute to a trust fund to preserve the dignity of this site that chronicles the pioneers and generations of the King area. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2001