Knupple Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Knupple Cemetery in Hardin County. Now, every good story starts somewhere, and this one starts with a man named August Knupple, a Prussian who came to Texas in 1846 to farm. Just a man, some land, and a whole lot of future ahead of him.

Somewhere around 1870, on that very property, he set aside a piece of ground for the dead. A cemetery. His cemetery.

The earliest marked grave there dates to 1871, and it belongs to a man named Henry Robinson. Though the marker is careful to tell us the burial ground may have begun even earlier, as a family graveyard, before anyone thought to carve a name in stone. That's the kind of detail that'll keep you up at night if you think too long on it.

Sixteen graves, at least sixteen, stretch back into the 19th century. And they are not plain, forgettable markers. This cemetery features grave slabs and Woodmen of the World gravestones, the kind that tell you something about the people underneath them.

Among the interred are veterans of conflicts dating all the way back to the Civil War. These were pioneers, neighbors, family. People who built something out here and then, as people do, stayed.

By the 1930s, relatives and volunteers had taken it upon themselves to maintain the property, making sure the ground didn't swallow the memory whole. And that work continues today through the Knupple Cemetery Association, still caring for this burial ground. Still keeping the record.

August Knupple came to Texas in 1846 to farm. What he left behind was a whole lot more than a field.

What the marker says

August Knupple, a Prussian who came to Texas in 1846 to farm, established this cemetery on his property around 1870. The earliest marked grave, dating to 1871, is for Henry Robinson, although the burial ground may have begun earlier as a family graveyard. Knupple Cemetery contains at least 16 graves dating to the 19th century, and features grave slabs and Woodmen of the World gravestones. The interred include veterans of conflicts dating to the Civil War. By the 1930’s relatives and volunteers began to maintain the property. Today, the Knupple Cemetery Association continues to care for this burial ground, which remains as a record of the pioneering Knupple Family and generations of area residents. Historic Texas Cemetery-2008