Matagorda Cemetery — founded in 1830 and one of Texas’ oldest — has been placed on the prestigious National Register of Historic Places.
Local historical group officials expect two other Matagorda County sites will soon share the notable recognition — the Hensley-Guzman House, built in 1905, and the World War II-era Bay City U.S.O. Building, today’s Bay City Service Center. The 7.2-acre cemetery, at the northeast edge of Matagorda, was first used soon after the town was founded in 1829.The cemetery, which received a Texas Historical Marker in 1970, shows the town’s remarkable, with grave stone inscriptions telling about frontier hardships.
The marker’s text said those buried include: victims of 1862 yellow fever epidemic; soldiers of the Texas Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War; also Karankawa Indian victims. Early Texas leaders buried at the cemetery include Texas Secretary of Navy, Samuel Rhoads Fisher — a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence — Texas’ first Lt. Governor, Albert Clinton Horton, and George Morse Collinsworth, who commanded the Texans at the capture of Goliad in 1835.
The National Register of Historic Places is a service of the National Parks System. Visit their website
Read full article from the Bay City Tribune
