DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at Rose Hill Cemetery has to say — and friend, this one's got layers. You want to talk about a place that holds a whole city's story in the ground, we're talking about Rose Hill Cemetery in Texarkana. One of the oldest in the city.
They called it City Cemetery when they founded it in 1874, just a breath after the town itself came into being in December of 1873. The dirt here barely had time to settle before it started keeping secrets. And what a collection of souls it keeps.
Plantation owners. Country doctors. Lawyers.
The man who ran the livery stable. The cabinet maker. Two known members of the Texas legislature rest here, quiet as you please.
These were Texarkana's first citizens — the people who showed up when showing up meant something. Now the Civil War hadn't been over long when this ground started filling up, and that tension is written right into the soil. About seventy Confederate soldiers are interred here — and three known Union soldiers alongside them.
Whatever they felt about one another in life, they've been neighbors a good long while now. But here's where the story takes a darker turn. Among the burials are victims of the 1882 Paragon Saloon disaster.
A storm rolled in, caused a nearby building to collapse, and that collapse started a fire. People died in that. And Rose Hill received them.
By 1889, the community decided this place deserved better than neglect. The Rose Hill Cemetery Association was formed that year — specifically to beautify and maintain the tract. They had their work cut out for them, and the name Rose Hill stuck.
Walk the grounds and you'll find a very impressive monument marking the grave of Otis Henry, a young World War I soldier. That word young just sits there on the marker, doesn't it. It doesn't need help.
And then there's Captain Francis Marion Henry — one of the city fathers, the marker says. A great-great-grandson of American Patriot Patrick Henry. His grave is marked by a Texas historical marker of its own.
That's a lineage that traveled a long road to end up in Texarkana. The center-drive lots are set aside for designated soldiers and veterans — men and women from both sides of the state line, Bowie County, Texas and Miller County, Arkansas — who served in World Wars I and II. This cemetery straddles a border in more ways than one.
And if you pay attention as you walk, you'll notice something else: many of the older graves are placed in cement cradles. That's a surviving custom of earlier times, the marker tells us — and so is the whole feel of the place, that secluded atmosphere, tucked right into the heart of town like a secret the city chose to keep close. Founded in 1874, still standing watch.
Rose Hill doesn't holler for your attention. It just waits, knowing you'll come around eventually.
What the marker says
One of the oldest cemeteries in Texarkana. Founded as "City Cemetery" in 1874, shortly after the town was established in December, 1873. Here lie the remains of some of the city's first citizens-- plantation owners, the livery stable owner, country doctors, lawyers, the cabinet maker, and 2 known members of the Texas legislature. About 70 Confederate soldiers and 3 known Union soldiers are also interred here. Other burials include victims of the 1882 Paragon Saloon disaster, which occurred when a storm caused a nearby building to collapse, thus starting a fire. In 1889 the Rose Hill Cemetery Association was formed to beautify and maintain the tract. A very impressive monument marks the grave of Otis Henry, a young World War I soldier. The grave of Captain Francis Marion Henry, one of the city fathers and a great-great-grandson of American Patriot Patrick Henry, is marked by a Texas historical marker. The center-drive lots are reserved for designated soldiers and veterans of World Wars I and II from Bowie County, Texas and Miller County, Arkansas. Many of the older graves are placed in cement "cradles", a surviving custom of earlier times, as is the secluded atmosphere of this heart-of-town plot. (1969)