Clara Cemetery - Clara, TX
N 34° 05.247 W 098° 42.349
14S E 527139 N 3771891
The Clara Cemetery is one of just a few bits left of the town of Clara, TX. Dating to 1888, it has nearly 400 burials, and is still very active.
Waymark Code: WMVFAG
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/11/2017
Views: 1
A 1978 Texas Historical Marker out on TX 240 provides some background about Clara:
Herman Specht migrated in 1870 to Galveston from Germany. In 1884 he married Clara M. Vogel Lange (1853 - 1912), a wealthy widow, adding to earlier property holdings in Galveston. He began buying extensive tracts of land in northern Wichita County, which eventually totaled 21,000 acres. In 1886 he platted the town of Clara which he named for his wife. The streets were named for Texas heroes. He donated the site for the Trinity Lutheran Church. Specht advertised for German colonists from other states to settle here.
Specht built his home in Iowa Park in 1890 and ran a ranch at Clara where he grew wheat. North of the church site, he had a large experimental nursery for unusual plants. The 1891 drought wiped out the nursery and Specht's crops. the 1900 Galveston storm destroyed the remainder of their vast holdings.
Clara included a church, schools, store, garage, and post office. Hampered by an inadequate water supply, the town began to decline with the consolidation of the school with the Burkburnett schools. During the oil boom of the 1920s, many residents moved to Wichita Falls. Good roads and cars made it possible to shop elsewhere. The town finally vanished except for the church, rectory, and cemetery.
City, Town, or Parish / State / Country: Clara, TX
Approximate number of graves: 350+
Cemetery Status: Active
Cemetery Website: [Web Link]
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