Little Bethel Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and Little Bethel Cemetery has a story worth every word. Way out in Dallas County, before Dallas was much of anything at all, two small children were laid to rest in the ground. The year was 1856.

Nobody planned a cemetery that day, not exactly; but that's how cemeteries tend to begin, quietly, with the smallest losses. Those two burials opened what would become Little Bethel, and the ground has been holding souls ever since. The oldest stone still standing dates to 1858, and it marks the resting place of Etna Barker, of a pioneer family.

Think about that a moment: 1858. That stone has outlasted wars, droughts, and every kind of Texas weather you can name. In 1860, the landowner Crawford Trees made it official, donating the original burial ground.

A gift of earth, given so the community would always have a place to bring its grief. And it was a community, truly; some relatives of John Neely Bryan, the first settler in Dallas himself, are buried right there among the others. There was even a small church on the grounds at one time, though it didn't stay forever.

It was later relocated to Cedar Hill, carrying whatever prayers still clung to its timbers. The cemetery kept growing, quietly, the way cemeteries do. Judge William B.

Hamilton added acreage in 1936, then added more in 1951; because the living kept coming, and the dead kept accumulating, and the ground had to be ready for both. By the time all was said and done, Little Bethel held a thousand graves. A thousand.

In 1966, it became a memorial park with perpetual care; meaning somebody made a promise to this place, a promise that the grass would be tended and the stones would not be forgotten. From two unnamed children in 1856 to a thousand souls and countin', Little Bethel has been keepin' faith with Dallas County for a long, long time.

What the marker says

Burials of two small children opened this cemetery in 1856. The oldest stone (1858) commemorates Etna Barker, of a pioneer family. Some relatives of John Neely Bryan, first settler in Dallas, are buried here. This was once the site of a small church that was later relocated in Cedar Hill. Landowner Crawford Trees donated original burial ground in 1860. Judge William B. Hamilton added acreage in 1936 and 1951. There are now 1,000 graves. Little Bethel became a memorial park with perpetual care in 1966.