Old Independence Cemetery was founded in 1823. It is located in

Independence, Texas ---> Independence is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas, United States. Located twelve miles northeast of Brenham, it was founded in 1835 in Austin's colony of Anglo-Americans. It became a Baptist re ...

, on land donated by Medora Coles McCrocklin, a daughter of Judge J. P. Coles, one of the

Old Three Hundred The "Old Three Hundred" were 297 grantees who purchased 307 parcels of land from Stephen Fuller Austin in Mexican Texas. Each grantee was head of a household, or, in some cases, a partnership of married men. Austin was an American approved in 1 ...

from the Austin Colony. The cemetery was an early community graveyard used by

Anglo-American Anglo-Americans are people who are English-speaking inhabitants of Anglo-America. It typically refers to the nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who spe ...

pioneers of Texas. It is commemorated by a state historical marker. Numerous prominent figures of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from M ...

are buried here, along with founders of

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

, which had its first campus in Independence. Gravestones were cut from native

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

and some are decorated with seashells. There are a number of false

crypt A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' " vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a ...

s in the cemetery. The nearby "Liberty Cemetery" was used by African-American members of this historic community.

Notable burials in Old Independence Cemetery

* Moses Austin Bryan (1843–1895) * Sam Houston, Jr. (1843–1894) – First son of Sam Houston * Tacitus Thomas Clay (1824–1868) – Built Clay Castle * Ira Randolph Lewis (1800–1867) – Early settler * Henry Lee Graves (1818–1881) – First President of Baylor University

References

{{reflist Cemeteries in Texas Protected areas of Washington County, Texas 1823 establishments in Texas

Notable burials in Old Independence Cemetery

See also

References