A. A. and Susanna Head Homestead
Alvarado, Johnson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Alanson Asbury (A. A.) Head (1843-1925) and his wife, Susanna Alabama Bethany (1843-1924) built a two-story residence here about 1877. Over the years A. A. and Susanna, known as Uncle Ben and Aunt Sukie, terraced about 300 acres here on which they cultivated various orchards, vineyards, and berry patches. Their farm prospered and in 1903 they donated two acres across the road from their home for the building of the Head Chapel Methodist Church. In 1908 the Heads donated an adjoining 2 acres to establish the Bethany Rest Cemetery, where they were later buried side by side. (1993)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Around 1877 Alanson Asbury Head and his wife Susanna—known affectionately as Uncle Ben and Aunt Sukie—built a two-story home here and terraced some 300 acres into orchards, vineyards, and berry patches. As their farm prospered they gave two acres in 1903 for the Head Chapel Methodist Church and two more in 1908 for the Bethany Rest Cemetery, where they were later buried side by side.
Why it matters
The Head homestead shows how a single hardworking farm family could anchor a rural neighborhood, turning private success into the church and burial ground that gave the community its center.
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Related people
- · Alanson Asbury Head
- · Susanna Alabama Bethany Head
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Bethany Rest Cemetery
Alvarado, TX
In 1857 a small group of Alabama families settled near Chambers Creek, founding a rural community called Fairview north of this site. Decades later, in 1903, the Head family donated land for a church—first called Head's Chapel—and in 1908 its trustees set part of it aside as a burial ground. The earliest marked grave, that of fifteen-year-old Marcy Thompson, dates to that year, and a cemetery association later fenced and cared for the plots that still serve the surrounding countryside.
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