DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Port O' Connor Cemetery — so hold tight, because this one's got some weight to it. Now, before there was ever a Port O' Connor, there was a place called Alligator Head. Late in the nineteenth century, a small settlement by that name developed right there on the coast of Matagorda Bay in Calhoun County.
You can imagine the kind of landscape that earns a name like that. Folks settled in anyway, the way Texans do, because the coast has a way of calling people even when it's got teeth. Then in 1910, the Calhoun County Cattle Company filed a plat for a town site.
They named it Port O' Connor — in honor of Tom M. O'Connor of Victoria, from whom the land was purchased. A new town needed a place to remember its own, and so a cemetery site was established to serve this rapidly growing community.
The first known burial there is that of Lola May McCarty, in 1913. The oldest marked grave belongs to Juan Pena, born in 1851, laid to rest in 1919. But here's the thing — and the marker says this plainly — it is highly likely there are many unmarked graves.
The coast keeps its secrets. And the coast, let me tell you, has not been gentle with this place. The hurricanes of 1919, 1942, and 1945 swept through Port O' Connor.
They swept through the town, and they swept through the cemetery. High winds and rain destroyed grave markers. Stones were displaced.
Storms don't read the names on the headstones before they come through. Yet the cemetery endured. Among those buried here are members of several lighthouse keeping families from the Matagorda Island Lighthouse — people who tended the light so others could find their way.
Some graves were brought here from Saluria, on Matagorda Island, reinterred at Port O' Connor because erosion was reclaiming that ground. Even in death, people were moved by the forces of this coastline. The gravestones themselves are arranged east to west, and they're made of marble, wood, granite, plastic, and concrete — whatever the community had, whatever would hold.
The decorations tell you everything: ships, anchors, shells, driftwood. This is a saltwater town, and these are saltwater people. Three hurricanes.
Unmarked graves. Stones scattered by the wind and rain. And still the cemetery stands, still tended, still telling the story of Port O' Connor.
The marker calls it a reflection of the determination and survival spirit of this town. I'd say that's about right. The storms came, and the people — the living and the buried alike — didn't go anywhere.
What the marker says
Late in the 19th century, a small settlement named Alligator Head, named for its particular landscape, developed on the coast of Matagorda bay in Calhoun County. In 1910, the Calhoun County Cattle Company filed a plat for a town site and named it Port O'Connor in honor of tom m. O'Connor of Victoria from whom the land was purchased. With the establishment of the town, a cemetery site was needed for the rapidly growing community. The first known burial in the cemetery is that of Lola May McCarty in 1913. The oldest marked grave is that of Juan Pena (1851-1919) but it is highly likely that there are many unmarked graves. Located on the Texas coast, the cemetery is subject to the harsh effects of the elements. The hurricanes of 1919, 1942 and 1945 swept the town of port O'Connor and damaged the cemetery. High winds and rain during these storms destroyed the cemetery and many grave markers were displaced. The cemetery is the final resting place for many key members of the community. Members of several lighthouse keeping families of the Matagorda Island lighthouse are buried here. Some graves from Saluria on Matagorda Island were reinterred here due to erosion. Arranged in an east to west formation, the gravestones are comprised of marble, wood, granite, plastic and concrete. Tombstone decorations include ships, anchors, shells and driftwood, reflecting the saltwater heritage of the town. This historic cemetery reflects the determination and survival spirit of port O'Connor.