OLDEST Marked Grave in Belle Plaine Cemetery - Belle Plaine, TX
N 32° 17.346 W 099° 22.410
14S E 464831 N 3572542
A 1992 Texas Historical Marker at the gate to Belle Plaine Cemetery indicates that the oldest marked grave in the cemetery belongs to Virgil Hill, a young man who was buried here way back in 1878.
Waymark Code: WM10AWX
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/03/2019
Views: 3
Depending upon whom you ask, it's "Belle Plain" or "Belle Plaine". The cemetery gate and the historical marker have the latter. Mr. Hill is buried next to his mother, his grave marked by a white marble headstone appropriate for the 1870s. Floral detail at the top of the headstone is above a set of clasped hands, which usually suggests a marriage, and the inscription reads:
Virgil B.
Son of
James B. & Catharine
Hill
Born
May 1, 1862,
Died
July 19, 1878.
His many virtues form the
noblest monument to his
memory.
-----
The historical marker provides some background:
Residents of the short-lived community of Belle Plaine were burying their dead at this site as early as 1878. Although the presence of unmarked graves suggests earlier possible usage, the oldest marked grave, that of sixteen-year-old Virgil Hill, dates to that year.
Belle Plaine residents informally established a community cemetery here on vacant land. The graveyard was located within a larger tract of land that was owned by the state until 1861 and later by several railroad companies. Its last private owner, the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, purchased the tract that included this graveyard in 1879 when it anticipated routing its railroad through Belle Plaine. However, in 1883 the route was changed to pass through nearby Baird. In response, the railway company deeded the cemetery property to Callahan County the following year.
Though the community of Belle Plaine had declined by 1909, burials have continued to take place. Those interred here include area pioneers, their descendants, and veterans. The historic burial ground remains an important cultural resource in this area.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 07/19/1878
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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