Buck Foster Cemetery
Bedias, Walker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Buck Foster Cemetery, also known as Foster or Loma Cemetery, is located about twelve miles west of Huntsville in the eastern part of the Loma Community. The cemetery was officially created when William Harrison “Buck” Foster (1835-1908) sold 100 acres of land in 1882 to W.L. Sandel reserving one acre for a cemetery. However, prior to the sale, this land was used as a burial ground for people in the surrounding community as evidenced by the eroded sandstone markers in the northwest section of the cemetery. With hundreds of burials, the Buck Foster Cemetery served nearby rural communities of Loma, Gladstone and New Hope. One of the earliest marked graves is that of Nancy (Gibson) McCulloch Heath (1817-1875), one-half Choctaw and one-half German. Nancy came to Texas from Illinois in 1845 with her husband, Samuel David McCulloch, and two children. According to county history, David died in 1848 and was buried here, but the exact location is lost to time. Nancy married her neighbor, William Heath (1821-1882) and they had seven sons. The oldest marked tombstone in Buck Foster Cemetery marks the grave of William McCulloch (1846-1870), Nancy and David’s son. Many of Nancy’s descendants are buried here. Gravestone materials include sandstone, concrete, granite, marble and steel, and are adorned with a variety of symbols such as masonic and eastern star symbols, religious symbols, and images of ranching, farming, sports and music. Many military veterans dating from the Civil War are buried here. This historic cemetery is a testament to the pioneering men and women in southwestern Walker County.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Buck Foster Cemetery took its name from William Harrison "Buck" Foster, who reserved an acre for burials when he sold his land in 1882 — though eroded sandstone markers show the ground served the Loma community even earlier. Among its hundreds of graves lies Nancy McCulloch Heath, of Choctaw and German descent, who came to Texas in 1845, alongside Civil War veterans and generations of her descendants. Its weathered stones, carved with Masonic, religious, and ranching symbols, form a folk record of southwestern Walker County.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the intertwined Native, immigrant, and pioneer roots of rural Texas settlement across the 19th century.
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Related people
- · William Harrison "Buck" Foster
- · Nancy Gibson McCulloch Heath
- · William McCulloch
Themes & tags
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