Blackburn Cemetery
Killeen, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Although this cemetery is the last remnant of the Blackburn estate, it gives visitors a glimpse of the history of a long line of Texans who served in many wars and once owned land that now makes up part of fort hood. John Porter Blackburn, veteran of the War of 1812 and other military campaigns, moved with his family from Tennessee to Bell County in 1853. He died in 1855, and his burial was the first of the cemetery. John’s sons and descendants would go on to serve in later wars, from the Civil War to World War II. The most recent burial here was of John’s great-great-grandson, Wilbur McCorcle, in 2001.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This small cemetery is the last remnant of the Blackburn family estate, land that now lies within Fort Hood. John Porter Blackburn, a veteran of the War of 1812, moved his family from Tennessee to Bell County in 1853 and was the first buried here after his death in 1855. His sons and descendants served in conflicts from the Civil War through World War II, the last laid to rest in 2001.
Why it matters
One family's graves trace nearly two centuries of American military service and the westward migration that settled central Texas before the land became a modern army post.
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Related people
- · John Porter Blackburn
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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One of Bell County's oldest cemeteries, Pleasant Hill has received burials since 1855, beginning on the farm of Missouri-born pioneer Fleming Trigg Cox. Cox descendants formally deeded the grounds in 1907, and a cemetery association organized in 1901 has cared for it ever since, gathering each June beneath a tabernacle raised that same year. Its graves hold veterans from the Mexican War through Vietnam alongside the hard-working families who first settled western Bell County.
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