Waldeck Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's what the official marker has to say, and I'll tell it the best way I know how. The Waldeck Cemetery, out in Fayette County, has been holding the stories of its community for over a hundred years. And the way it came to be is worth a few minutes of your time.

The place was originally known as Long Prairie. German immigrants had settled here, put down roots, started building something. And in 1866, the community gathered.

They had two things on their minds: a school and church building, and a proper cemetery. That meeting got things moving. Louis Tittel deeded six acres of land, and that land became the cemetery.

Now, here's a detail the marker makes a point of mentioning. When they laid out that cemetery, there were already graves in the north corner. Already there.

The earliest marked grave carries the date 1871, but something older was waiting in that north corner before anyone got around to marking anything. More than five hundred and thirty graves rest here now. German immigrants, many of them, people who crossed an ocean and found their final place in Fayette County, Texas.

And veterans, too, from the Civil War all the way through the Vietnam War. Generation after generation, war after war. The Waldeck Cemetery keeps serving its community still.

Long Prairie may have changed its name, but the ground remembers everything.

What the marker says

This cemetery has served the Waldeck community of German immigrants for over 100 years. Originally known as Long Prairie, the community met in 1866 to erect a school/church building and to establish a cemetery. Louis Tittel deeded six acres of land which became the cemetery. There were existing graves in the north corner, though the earliest marked grave is dated 1871. Burials include many German immigrants, and veterans of wars from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. This cemetery contains more than 530 graves, and continues to serve the Waldeck community.