Oakwood Cemetery

Duane's take

The official marker at Oakwood Cemetery in Eastland County tells it like this, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, every place has a beginning, and this one starts with a man named Dolphin William Bint. That name alone deserves a moment.

Dolphin William Bint came to the United States from England in 1876 and settled in Eastland County, out in the Red Gap community. He was building a life here, literally. At some point he set out on a journey to Fort Worth to buy lumber for their home.

And while he was gone, his wife gave birth to a son. A stillborn son. That child was buried under an oak tree in the family's pasture.

And that quiet act, that grief laid down beneath an oak in a Texas pasture, became the very first burial in what would one day be Oakwood Cemetery. The Bints didn't stay. They relocated to Delmar, a place now known as Dothan, and their property was sold to the railway survey.

Part of that land was later donated to the cemetery in 1910. So the ground that held that first small grave passed through loss and transaction and time, and kept being used for the purpose it had already been given. By 1899, the First Cisco Cemetery Association had organized to care for the grounds.

Shortly after receiving their charter in 1900, the members got to work. They raised funds to enclose the grounds, erect gates, plant vegetation, and identify unmarked graves. That last task, finding the forgotten ones, that takes a certain kind of dedication.

The cemetery kept growing. Ten acres were added in 1931, and again in 1965, that second addition coming from the Cisco Independent School District. During the height of the Works Progress Administration, a rock wall two thousand five hundred and seventeen feet long was erected on three sides of the cemetery.

And at the southeast entrance, a prominent WPA rock archway still stands, welcoming everyone who comes. The landscape itself does some of the talking. Granite, limestone, marble, and sandstone grave markers spread across the grounds.

Mulberry, oak, red buds, crape myrtle, cedar, pine trees, and ferns afford shade and beauty across the whole of it. More than seven thousand graves rest here now. And among those seven thousand, over six hundred are veterans.

Men and women who served in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Six wars. Six hundred souls and more, all gathered under those same trees.

In 1976, the Cisco Cemetery Association organized again, this time to establish a trust fund and provide ongoing care for the cemetery while serving the wider community of Cisco. All of it, the wall, the archway, the veterans, the trees, traces back to a man named Dolphin William Bint, a journey to Fort Worth for lumber, and a son buried under an oak. That oak gave the place its name.

That grief gave it its purpose.

What the marker says

OAKWOOD CEMETERY DOLPHIN WILLIAM BINT (1845-1883) CAME TO THE UNITED STATES FROM ENGLAND IN 1876 AND SETTLED IN EASTLAND COUNTY IN THE RED GAP COMMUNITY. WHILE ON A JOURNEY TO FORT WORTH TO BUY LUMBER FOR THEIR HOME, HIS WIFE GAVE BIRTH TO A STILLBORN SON. HIS BURIAL UNDER AN OAK TREE IN THE FAMILY’S PASTURE BECAME THE FIRST IN OAKWOOD CEMETERY. THE BINTS RELOCATED TO DELMAR (NOW DOTHAN) AND THEIR PROPERTY WAS SOLD TO THE RAILWAY SURVEY, A PART OF WHICH WAS LATER DONATED TO THE CEMETERY IN 1910. THE FIRST CISCO CEMETERY ASSOCIATION WAS ORGANIZED IN 1899 TO CARE FOR THE CEMETERY. SHORTLY AFTER RECEIVING THEIR CHARTER IN 1900, THE MEMBERS RAISED FUNDS TO ENCLOSE THE GROUNDS, ERECT GATES, PLANT VEGETATION, AND IDENTIFY UNMARKED GRAVES. IN 1931, TEN ACRES WERE ADDED TO THE CEMETERY, AND AGAIN IN 1965 FROM THE CISCO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION (WPA), A 2,517 FT. ROCK WALL WAS ERECTED ON THREE SIDES OF THE CEMETERY. THE GENERAL LANDSCAPE OF THE CEMETERY IS TRADITIONAL WITH GRANITE, LIMESTONE, MARBLE, AND SANDSTONE GRAVE MARKERS WITH A PROMINENT WPA ROCK ARCHWAY AT THE SOUTHEAST ENTRANCE. A VARIETY OF NATURAL VEGETATION, INCLUDING MULBERRY, OAK, RED BUDS, CRAPE MYRTLE, CEDAR, PINE TREES, AND FERNS AFFORD SHADE AND BEAUTY TO THIS HISTORIC BURIAL SITE. OAKWOOD CEMETERY IS HOME TO OVER 7,000 GRAVES. MORE THAN SIX HUNDRED BURIALS ARE VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR, THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, WORLD WAR I, WORLD WAR II, THE KOREAN WAR, AND THE VIETNAM WAR. THE CISCO CEMETERY ASSOCIATION ORGANIZED IN 1976 TO ESTABLISH A TRUST FUND AND PROVIDE CARE FOR THE CEMETERY, WHILE ALSO SERVING THE COMMUNITY OF CISCO. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2010