Chalk Cemetery
Riverside, Walker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded in the 1870s on land owned by Lacy Harrington, this cemetery takes its name from the geologic features of the area. The earliest documented burial is that of Civil War veteran Barney Carroll (1835-1880), although local oral tradition suggests the existence of older, unmarked graves. For more than 100 years, the cemetery has served the Kittrell community, which once boasted a post office, school, church, blacksmith shop, general store, cotton gin, and grist mill. A cemetery association, formed in 1971, maintains the historic graveyard. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2008
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in the 1870s on land owned by Lacy Harrington and named for the area's chalky geology, this graveyard's earliest documented burial is that of Civil War veteran Barney Carroll, who died in 1880. For more than a century it has served the Kittrell community, which once supported a post office, school, church, blacksmith, general store, cotton gin, and grist mill. A cemetery association formed in 1971 continues to tend the historic grounds.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the memory of a once-bustling rural community, now largely faded, and of a Civil War veteran who helped settle it.
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Related people
- · Barney Carroll
- · Lacy Harrington
Themes & tags
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