Ottine Cemetery

Duane's take

The way the marker at Ottine Cemetery tells it, here's how I'm passing it along to you. In 1879, a man named Adolph Otto came to this stretch of Texas with his wife, Theresia, and eleven children in tow. Eleven.

That is not a small crew to move across the country, and they didn't waste any time once they arrived. Adolph and his sons, John August, Louis, Henry, and Albert, got to work. They built the family home.

Then they built a water-powered grist mill. Then a gin. These were not people who sat around wondering what to do next.

But life has a way of shifting the weight from one set of shoulders to another. Adolph's health began to decline, and he moved to San Antonio, where he died and was buried in 1890. The work, and the dream of something bigger here, passed to his son John August, known as J.A.

J.A. Otto picked up right where his father left off. A bridge was built across the river, and that bridge did what bridges do in a young country.

It brought people. New settlers came, businesses started taking shape, and the Otto brothers helped others get those businesses off the ground. By 1892, the place had a name: Ottine.

The community was putting down roots, and the ground itself was already telling that story. The first marked grave in what would become the Ottine Cemetery dates to 1888, before the town even had its name. People were already claiming this soil as something worth remembering.

J.A. officially deeded that cemetery property to the public in 1929, a quiet but serious act. And the town kept growing through the first half of the twentieth century, with a rail line coming through and even a brief oil boom adding its chapter to the story. Then came the 1950s, and the familiar Texas drift toward larger cities nearby.

The town thinned out. The cemetery, without hands to tend it, fell into neglect and disrepair. Tombstones that had once marked the lives of whole families began to fade back into the grass and the years.

Now here is where the story turns. In 1987, a cemetery association formed, and they set about doing the slow, serious work of restoration, upkeep, protection, and research. They even moved the old Ottine school bell to the site.

Think about that for a moment. A school bell, brought to stand among the graves, as if to call everyone back one more time. Today, the Ottine Cemetery is in use again.

The tombstones are there, holding the names of the community and its families against the long forgetting. Adolph Otto came here in 1879 with a wife, eleven children, and something to build. What he started is still standing.

What the marker says

In 1879, Adolph Otto moved to this area with his wife, Theresia, and their eleven children. He and his sons, John August, Louis, Henry and Albert, constructed the family home, as well as a water-powered grist mill and gin. Due to declining health, Adolph moved to San Antonio, where he died and was buried in 1890. John August (J.A.) resumed the responsibility of building a town here. A bridge built across the river attracted new settlers, and the Otto brothers assisted others with establishing businesses in the new town, named Ottine in 1892. Community members used this site as a burial ground, and the first marked grave dates to 1888. J.A. officially deeded the property to the public in 1929, and the cemetery was in continuous use as the town grew in the first half of the 20th century with a rail line and a brief oil boom. After the 1950s, as people moved into larger cities nearby, the cemetery was neglected and fell into a state of disrepair. A cemetery association formed in 1987 began restoration, upkeep, protection and research, and the old Ottine school bell was moved to the site. Today, the cemetery is in use again, and the numerous tombstones serve to memorialize the Ottine community and its families. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2001