DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. This is the story of Memorial Square in Victoria County. Now, the ground we're talking about has been a lot of things over the years — burial place, battlefield afterthought, community square — and every layer of it says something about the kind of history Texas doesn't let you forget easily.
It starts in 1824, when Martin de Leon founded the town of Victoria. Right then, from the very beginning, he laid out this square as a public burial ground — the oldest one in Victoria. And worth noting: in those days, Victoria sat in the Mexican State of Coahuila and Texas.
That's the world this ground was born into. The cemetery spread wide in those early years, includin the block to the east, and many of Victoria's pioneers were laid to rest here. Then came 1836, and the Texas Revolution brought soldiers to this ground too — some of them never leaving.
But here's a curious thing about this cemetery: for years after, it was only occasionally used. That changed in 1846, when the town passed an ordinance deterring burials in family cemeteries — possibly to combat a cholera epidemic. Possibly.
That word does a lot of work. Because what followed was that many who succumbed found their way to this square. Citizens, yes, but also soldiers — soldiers serving under General Zachary Taylor.
The community kept growing, and by 1850 a larger plot was purchased — what is now Evergreen Cemetery. But Memorial Square wasn't finished yet. The Civil War brought Confederate soldiers here.
And then came the part of this story that lands heavy. After the war, some members of the Federal Army of Occupation destroyed many of the headstones. The marker uses the word unfortunately, and that word earns its place.
Because of it, most of the gravesites today are simply unknown. Names, gone. Markers, gone.
The ground remembers, but it can't tell you who. Burials gradually ceased. The land shifted to other purposes.
And since 1899, it has been known as Memorial Square — devoted now to the preservation of monuments to Texas history and to the remembrance of Texas' honored dead. From a founding in 1824 to a rededication that's lasted more than a century, this square has held Victoria's stories whether Victoria was ready to tell them or not.
What the marker says
Once the oldest public burial ground in Victoria, this square was laid in 1824 when Martin de Leon founded the town, then located in the Mexican State of "Coahuila and Texas". In early years the cemetery included the block to the east, and many Victoria pioneers were interred here. Burials of soldiers in the Texas Revolution took place in 1836 and later. The cemetery was only occasionally used, however, until 1846, when an ordinance was passed deterring burials in family cemeteries, possibly to combat a cholera epidemic. Many who succumbed were citizens but some were soldiers, under General Zachary Taylor. As the community grew, a larger plot (now Evergreen Cemetery) was purchased in 1850. Later in the Civil War, Confederate soldiers were interred here, but after the war some members of the Federal Army of Occupation unfortunately destroyed many headstones, so that today most of the gravesites are unknown. As burials here gradually ceased, the ground came to be used for other purposes and since 1899 has been designated Memorial Square. It is today devoted to the preservation of monuments to Texas history and to the remembrance of Texas' honored dead. 1968