Wharton Hispanic Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Wharton Hispanic Cemetery, just across Grove Street from Wharton Cemetery in Wharton, Texas. Now, before we get into names and dates and deeds, let me say this plainly: we are talking about sacred ground. More than five hundred people rest here.

That deserves a moment of respect before we say another word. The land itself has a story. In February of 1925, a man named D.A.

Dickson conveyed one and a half acres to the Mexican Cemetery Association for this site. Conveyed, meaning he transferred that land over, made it official. But here is the thing the marker makes sure to tell you: the cemetery was already active for several years before that transaction ever happened.

People were already being buried here. The paperwork caught up to the community, not the other way around. From the 1920s all the way to 1973, this was the only Hispanic cemetery designated in the city of Wharton.

That word, only, carries a lot of weight. Wharton's cemeteries were segregated, as they were in many cities across Texas, with separate burial grounds for Hispanic, African American, and Caucasian residents. Families had no choice in the matter.

So this ground held all of it, the grief and the love and the history, for decade after decade. Most burials since the 1970s have taken place at Evergreen Memorial Park. But the more than five hundred souls interred here did not go quietly into the background of history.

Walk through this cemetery and you are walking through the varied and rich heritage of a community and of this state. Take Juan Pedro Cabrera, whose years on this earth span from around 1680 to 1730. Some of the people buried in this cemetery are descended from him, and through him, from the Canary Islanders who helped settle San Antonio.

Think about that lineage. Others buried here were among the early generations in Wharton itself, people who built this town from the ground up. The cemetery is laid out in a way that tells its own quiet story.

Infants and children buried in the 1920s and 1930s are in the rear of the cemetery. Adults and children from the 1950s to 1973 are mostly on the north half. The headstones are primarily granite, along with many in concrete and wood, and some carry inscriptions in Spanish.

Not every grave is marked. And the marker notes the possibility that some burials exist outside the fence boundary entirely, which is a sobering thing to sit with. Granite and concrete and wood and Spanish words carved into stone.

Unmarked ground that may hold more than anyone fully knows. This cemetery is, as the marker puts it, a precious chronicle of family and memory, and today it continues to be exactly that. Five hundred lives, maybe more.

Across Grove Street from a cemetery that was never meant for them. And yet here they are, still speaking, if you know how to listen.

What the marker says

Located across Grove Street from Wharton Cemetery, this historic burial ground is the final resting place for many of Wharton's early Hispanic citizens. In February 1925, D.A. Dickson conveyed 1.5 acres to the Mexican Cemetery Association for the site; however, the cemetery was already active for several years prior to the transaction. From the 1920s to 1973, most Hispanic burials took place here, as it was the only Hispanic cemetery designated in the city. Wharton's cemeteries were segregated, as in many cities, with separate cemeteries for Hispanic, African American and Caucasian residents. Most burials since the 1970s have taken place at Evergreen Memorial Park. With more than 500 burials, the cemetery reflects the varied and rich heritage of the community and the state. Through Juan Pedro Cabrera (c. 1680-1730), some interred here are descended from Canary Islanders who helped settle San Antonio. Others were among the early generations in Wharton. The cemetery is somewhat separated by decade and burial type. Infants and children buried in the 1920s and 1930s are located in the rear of the cemetery, while adults and children from the 1950s to 1973 are mostly on the north half. Headstones in the cemetery are primarily granite, along with many in concrete and wood and some featuring inscriptions in Spanish. Not all graves are marked, with the possibility that some burials exist outside the fence boundary. Today this sacred ground continues to be a precious chronicle of family and memory.