Cemetery Ranches
I spent a little time this weekend looking through the cemeteries in Erath County, TX for some of my ancestors on my Dad's side of the family. Many of them lived and were born in Erath County. I found a few of the Jenkins, but I have yet to find the Grahams, Swofords and possibly Woolsey's from that area.
As I was browsing through the different cemeteries on Find-A-Grave I started to notice a trend in the appearance of the cemeteries. They all reminded me of cattle ranches. Notice the entrances. Even some of them have the cattle entrances to prevent cattle from going into the cemetery. Talk about blending your cemeteries into the surrounding area. I'm sure their are many ranchers buried in these cemeteries. I guess that one way to lay them to rest in the way they lived, on the ranch. In many parts of the country you see cemeteries that look like parks, but not in TX or even OK. They die like they lived and are very practical. Now don't get me wrong, some of the big cemeteries in the big cities of TX and OK do look like parks, but the simple ones in the simple little towns sure fit. I love it really.
Allard Cemetery Contributed by Ken Jones
Corinth Cemetery Contributed by Rick Lewis
Thurber Cemetery Contributed by Connie McCarthy
Lingville East End Cemetery Contributed by Kristen Littlejohn Dunn
Bowman Cemetery Contributed by Ken Jones
Round Grove Cemetery Contributed by P J New
Russell Cemetery Contributed by Sandra Miller
Old Valley Grove Cemetery Contributed by Ken Jones
As I was browsing through the different cemeteries on Find-A-Grave I started to notice a trend in the appearance of the cemeteries. They all reminded me of cattle ranches. Notice the entrances. Even some of them have the cattle entrances to prevent cattle from going into the cemetery. Talk about blending your cemeteries into the surrounding area. I'm sure their are many ranchers buried in these cemeteries. I guess that one way to lay them to rest in the way they lived, on the ranch. In many parts of the country you see cemeteries that look like parks, but not in TX or even OK. They die like they lived and are very practical. Now don't get me wrong, some of the big cemeteries in the big cities of TX and OK do look like parks, but the simple ones in the simple little towns sure fit. I love it really.
Allard Cemetery Contributed by Ken Jones
Corinth Cemetery Contributed by Rick Lewis
Thurber Cemetery Contributed by Connie McCarthy
Lingville East End Cemetery Contributed by Kristen Littlejohn Dunn
Bowman Cemetery Contributed by Ken Jones
Round Grove Cemetery Contributed by P J New
Russell Cemetery Contributed by Sandra Miller
Old Valley Grove Cemetery Contributed by Ken Jones
Comments
With the economy the way it is who can afford to travel very far from home? But I will some day.
You're right about Texas rural cemeteries. They tend to be maintained by the families using them, and I think their gates do reflect their heritage; a pertinent observation.
By law, all Texas cemeteries must have public access. It's the only state I know that has such a law, though there could be many more I simply don't know about.