Desdemona Cemetery
N 32° 15.714 W 098° 33.257
14S E 541980 N 3569553
The third of three historical markers you can see at or near the roadside of SH 16 when driving north to south through the town of Desdemona, TX.
Waymark Code: WMPMRT
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/22/2015
Views: 16
The Desdemona Cemetery has many of the early settlers buried here. Many Confederate soldiers are here with the Dixie flag either carved into the headstone or from relatives continuing to place small Confederate flags at the graveside. Vets from WW1 and WW2 also rest in peace in this cemetery.
Marker Number: 12541
Marker Text:
The town of Desdemona was a well established frontier community by the 1870s; a post office opened there in 1877. J. S. and Rosa Jones deeded one acre from the D. W. Funderburgh land survey for a "public graveyard" in 1880. The earliest marked grave is that of William E. Wright (1815-1878). It is likely that older unmarked burials exist among the oak trees here. Native rocks incised with initials or dates mark some early graves. Those buried here include pioneer settlers and their descendants; frontier matriarch Mrs. Kate (Kizzie) Shuler; veterans of the Civil War, World War I and World War II; Capt. A. J. O'Rear, a county commissioner and postmaster; S. E. Snodgrass, a physician who served the area for 50 years; local citizens who profited from the 1918 oil boom; Joe and Almeda Duke, owners of the site of the first oil gusher; and many young children. In 1918-19 oil discoveries surrounded the cemetery with flowing wells and oil derricks. H. H. Williams' estate donated two acres of land in 1965. The Desdemona Cemetery Association manages and maintains the site. The cemetery continues to serve the area as it has for more than a century.
(1996)
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.