Chappell Hill Masonic Cemetery
Chappell Hill, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Opened as Masonic burial ground, 1853. Jacob Haller, founder of Chappell Hill, was first interment. Final resting place of pioneers, soldiers, statesmen, heroes of Texas. Until formation of cemetery association in 1965, cared for by Hubert Lodge No. 67, A.F.&A.M.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This burial ground opened in 1853 as a Masonic cemetery, with Chappell Hill's founder Jacob Haller its first interment. It became the resting place of the pioneers, soldiers, and statesmen who shaped early Texas, tended for over a century by Hubert Lodge No. 67 until a cemetery association formed in 1965.
Why it matters
Fraternal lodges like the Masons often provided the earliest civic infrastructure on the Texas frontier, and their cemeteries preserve the memory of a community's founding generation.
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Related people
- · Jacob Haller
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Cedar Creek Community
Chappell Hill, TX
Cedar Creek was a Methodist settlement that thrived between the mid-1830s and early 1850s, halfway between San Felipe de Austin and the town of Washington, and became a center of the Texas Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1849 its residents founded nearby Chappell Hill, which grew into the hub of Methodism in central Texas as the older community faded into it. By the end of the Civil War the site had reverted to farmland, and today only rocks around the community spring remain.
Jacob Haller House
Chappell Hill, TX
Built in 1853 by Chappell Hill's first postmaster, the Jacob Haller House reflects the craftsmanship of early Texas building, framed with hand-hewn local cedar and clad in cypress clapboard beneath Victorian detailing. It later became the home of a beloved country doctor, W. R. Campbell. The house survives as a window onto a small antebellum town's founding generation.
Julius Yanch Home
Chappell Hill, TX
Built in 1854 for Julius Yanch by M. P. Munyan, a contractor who raised many of Chappell Hill's early buildings, this home is a fine example of pioneer Texas construction. Cedar framing, tongue-and-groove floors, and a chimney and underground cistern of native limestone reflect the resourceful craftsmanship of antebellum settlers. It stands in one of the state's most intact early Anglo-German settlement communities.
John Sterling Smith House
Chappell Hill, TX
First built in 1855 as a simple one-story dog-trot cabin, this Chappell Hill house was bought in 1873 by John Sterling and Claytonia Smith. Their son, a cotton farmer and community leader, transformed it into an elaborate Queen Anne home in 1910, adding an octagonal tower, gables, dormers, and a sweeping curved porch — the last such house left in the town.