Fairview Cemetery Entry Arch - Gainesville, TX
N 33° 37.883 W 097° 07.612
14S E 673735 N 3722859
Placed here in 1964, this arch is at the main entrance to Gainesville's historic Fairview Cemetery, leading to the office and past some of the cemetery's earliest and most interesting burials.
Waymark Code: WM127WQ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/23/2020
Views: 5
This isn't the only entrance to the cemetery, but it is certainly the most noticeable one. There are four incised blocks set into the support columns, reading "Fairview" ("Fair" and "view") on one side, and "Ceme" and "tery" on the other, and they support Gainesville (in steel) across the top. The gates are open during cemetery hours, but visitors who may stay a bit late have a means to depart, as there is an electronic sensor inside the gate, with directions on how to make the gate open.
A 1997 Texas Historical Marker stands in front of the cemetery office, and it references the arch in the last paragraph:
Originally the Howeth family cemetery, this site traces its history to 1854, when a tornado struck the Howeth family cabin near Gainesville. First buried here were Thomas and Louisa Howeth, young children of William and Harriet Bell Howeth. William Howeth deeded the ten-acre cemetery to Cooke County in 1868. In 1878 the Cooke County commissioners turned over the site to the City of Gainesville in a 999-year lease. A city ordinance reserved a section for freedmen.
The cemetery's name was changed in 1897 to East Hill, and in 1904 the name was changed again to Fairview. A separate Jewish cemetery adjoined this site from 1881 until 1964 when the two graveyards were combined.
Among the estimated 18,000 graves are those of Civil War Veterans; Preston Conlee, a San Jacinto battle veteran and Bastrop County sheriff who lies in an unmarked grave; 34 victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic; Bob Scott, ex-slave and centenarian; and former U.S. Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey.
A chapel and sexton's office, designed by Dallas architect Will Scott Richter, was constructed in 1938 at a cost of $6,296. The arched gate dates to 1964. This Victorian-era cemetery continues to serve the city.
Type: Gateway
Subtype: Other
Location: Fairview Cemetery
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