DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, picture this: McAllen, Texas, 1908. The town had barely gotten started — just one year old, really, still finding its feet in the South Texas heat — and already, folks were thinking about where the departed would rest.
A group of residents stepped up, and the Hidalgo Canal Company donated the land to make it happen. That's where this story begins. The oldest marked grave here dates to 1909, which means somebody was laid to rest before the soil had even settled on the idea of the place.
That'll give you a moment's pause if you let it. Now, here's a detail worth savoring: this cemetery wasn't always called Roselawn. For years it went by Valhalla — which, if you know anything about names, is about as grand and mythic a title as you can hang on a burial ground.
But in 1930, the name changed, and the reason is almost disarmingly gentle: roses. Somebody had the idea to plant roses as part of a beautification plan, and just like that, Valhalla became Roselawn. The McAllen Chamber of Commerce had been tending to the place since the early days, keeping it up, keeping it dignified — until 1924, when area residents decided to take that responsibility into their own hands and formed the McAllen Cemetery Association.
Community stepping in for community. The cemetery also goes by McAllen Cemetery, so it's carried more than one name across its years. Today, Roselawn has grown to twenty-two acres — started on a donated patch of ground and kept on growing, just like the city around it.
It stands as a reminder of McAllen's pioneering men and women, and of the cultural and religious diversity that has always shaped this place. Some stories are told in words. Some are told in roses and headstones and twenty-two quiet acres.
This one manages both.
What the marker says
In 1908, just one year after McAllen began to develop, a group of residents established this cemetery on land donated by the Hidalgo Canal Company. The oldest marked grave here dates to 1909. The McAllen Chamber of Commerce maintained the cemetery until 1924, when area residents formed the McAllen Cemetery association to care for the burial ground. Also known as McAllen Cemetery, this burial ground was named Valhalla until 1930, when the name changed to reflect roses planted as part of a beautification plan. Today, this historic cemetery has expanded to 22 acres and continues to serve as a reminder of McAllen’s pioneering men and women, and of the cultural and religious diversity of this city.