DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker at Oakwood Cemetery has to say, and friend, it's worth every word. Before this place became a cemetery in 1878, this same 157 acres was a fairgrounds and a race track. Hooves and cheering crowds where headstones now stand.
That's the kind of before-and-after that'll stop you mid-sip of your coffee. Oakwood took over from First Street Cemetery, the oldest important cemetery in Waco, and in 1878 — and in the years that followed — many bodies from those earlier graveyards were moved here, drawn by the promise of better-kept grounds. Now the land still belongs to the city of Waco, but since 1898 it's been operated by the Oakwood Cemetery Association, a private group.
And here's a detail worth savoring: the board of directors of that association is made up of women only. Not by accident, not by tradition that just sort of happened — by the original by-laws. Written in from the start.
Then there are the names beneath the soil. Three governors of Texas are interred at Oakwood. Richard Coke, who served from 1874 to 1876.
L.S. Sul Ross, who served from 1887 to 1891. And Pat M.
Neff, who served from 1921 to 1925. Also resting here is Neil McLennan, a Texas pioneer of Scottish birth, the man for whom McLennan County itself is named. And William Cameron, known as the Lumber King of the South, found his final ground here too.
But I'll tell you the names that give this cemetery its sharpest edge. Buried here are two old adversaries — the marker calls them that, and it earns the word. Rufus C.
Burleson, president of Baylor University, on one side. And William Cowper Brann, Crusading Editor of a publication called the Iconoclast, on the other. Brann made a name for himself with what the marker calls acid attacks on hypocrisy and self-righteousness.
In 1898, he was shot by another man who resented those attacks. Now Brann and Burleson, adversaries in life, share eternity on the same 157 acres. The marker tallied it all up as of April 2nd, 1969 — 18,804 burials.
A fairgrounds. A race track. And then, for those who needed a place to rest and be remembered, Oakwood.
What the marker says
Before Oakwood Cemetery was established here in 1878, this tract of land contained a fairgrounds and race track. The 157-acre burial ground is successor to First Street Cemetery, oldest important cemetery in Waco. Many bodies from early graveyards were moved here in 1878 and later because of the better maintenance of these grounds. Since 1898 the Oakwood Cemetery Association, a private group, has operated this tract, although the land remains the property of the city. The board of directors of the association consists of women only, as provided in the original by-laws. Among the eminent Texans interred here are three governors: Richard Coke (1874-1876), L.S. "Sul" Ross (1887-1891), and Pat M. Neff (1921-1925). Also, Neil McLennan, Texas pioneer of Scottish birth for whom McLennan County is named, is buried in Oakwood. In addition there are two old adversaries: Rufus C. Burleson, president of Baylor University,and William Cowper Brann, Crusading Editor of the "Iconoclast", who was shot in 1898 by another man who resented Brann's acid attacks on hypocrisy an self-righteousness. Also interred is William Cameron, "Lumber King of the South." As of April 2, 1969, burials totaled 18, 804.