Phillips Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Phillips Cemetery in Hays County. Now settle in, because this one starts with a deed and ends with a name, and what happens in between is the quiet, steady story of a community burying its own. John and Nancy Phillips deeded the land at this site to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1880.

A small church went up, and it was dedicated on March 13, 1880. Same day. And as was customary, members of the community were buried near the church.

So right there, on the very day of the dedication, the ground became something more than a churchyard. The earliest documented burial is that of B. G.

Sorrell, who died on March 13, 1880. The ink on the dedication barely dry. Among the graves here you'll find numerous early settlers to the Dripping Springs area, and sixteen Civil War veterans.

Sixteen. That's not a footnote, that's a weight you feel when you walk the rows. Now, a congregation can't stay put forever.

In 1901, land for a new church building was acquired on the Old San Marcos Road, which folks today know as Ranch Road 12. The original Methodist church building was sold and moved, leaving this site to serve one purpose and one purpose only: the cemetery. Families tended individual graves, and the broader community kept up the grounds.

In the early 1920s, the local blacksmith, William S. Garnett, stepped up in a way that went well beyond hammering iron. He ordered caskets and assisted with funeral arrangements.

A blacksmith seeing his neighbors to their rest. The Methodist church donated the cemetery property to the community in 1940, and in 1962 a cemetery association was formed to maintain the historic graveyard. And somewhere along the way, the name people had always used locally, Phillips Cemetery, became the official name of the burial ground.

Named for the couple who deeded the land. Sometimes the simplest endings are the ones that stick.

What the marker says

Early settlers John and Nancy Phillips deeded land at this site to the Methodist Episcopal Church, So, in 1880. A small church was built and was dedicated on March 13, 1880. As was customary, members of the community were buried near the church. The earliest documented burial is that of B. G. Sorrell, who died on March 13, 1880. Among the graves here are those of numerous early settlers to the Dripping Springs area and sixteen Civil War veterans. In 1901 land for a new church building was acquired on the Old San Marcos Road (now Ranch Road 12). The original Methodist church building was sold and moved, leaving the site to be used solely for the Methodist cemetery. Families cared for individual graves, while members of the community maintained the cemetery. In the early 1920s the local blacksmith, William S. Garnett, ordered caskets and assisted with funeral arrangements. The Methodist church donated the cemetery property to the community in 1940, and in 1962 a cemetery association was formed to maintain the historic graveyard. Phillips Cemetery, as it was known locally, became the official name of the burial ground.