Lowe Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's what the official marker has to say, and I'll tell it to you straight as I can. Out in Sabine County, there's a piece of ground that goes by two names — and both of them tell you something true about this place. The first name is Lowe Cemetery, and the second name is Stumptown Cemetery.

Sit with that second one a moment. We'll get back to it. First, let's talk about a man named Barnabas Colistus Lowe — though everybody, it seems, just called him Barney.

Around 1832, Barney made his way to Texas. That was early days, friend. Real early.

And Barney didn't just settle in quietly and tend a garden. In 1835, he was present at the Siege of Bexar — one of the defining fights of the Texas Revolution. For that service, Barney Lowe was granted 640 acres of land, sitting just south of where this very cemetery would come to stand.

Then the Civil War came along, and Barney went back to it — and this time he brought his son, Valerious Carlock Lowe, with him. Two generations of Lowes, answering the call. The oldest burials in this cemetery date as far back as 1840, and when you add up the military veterans laid to rest here, you reach six — men who served across spans of American history from the Texas Revolutionary War through the Civil War all the way to the Korean War.

Nine citizens of the Republic of Texas are buried here as well. Nine people who lived and died under that lone star flag. Now — about that second name.

By 1925, the community surrounding this cemetery had cut every last bit of the virgin timber. Every. Last.

Bit. What was left, as far as the eye could see, was stumps. And so the place became known as Stumptown.

The cemetery picked up that name too — Stumptown Cemetery — worn like a scar the land earned honestly. Two names for one patch of Sabine County ground: one for the pioneer who helped build this place, and one for what the years took away.

What the marker says

Named for Barnabas Colistus "Barney" Lowe, an early pioneer who moved to Texas circa 1832, Lowe Cemetery has burials that date as early as 1840. For his service in the Siege of Bexar in 1835, Barney Lowe was granted 640 acres of land just south of the present-day cemetery. Later, Barney and his son, Valerious Carlock Lowe, served during the Civil War. Six military veterans in total are buried here, ranging from the Texas Revolutionary War, Civil War, and Korean War. Nine citizens of the Republic of Texas are buried here as well. Lowe Cemetery is also known as Stumptown Cemetery after the surrounding community cut all the virgin timber by 1925 thereby receiving the name of Stumptown. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2016