Clark Cemetery
Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Clark Cemetery James E. Clark was born in North Carolina in 1826. He later moved to Texas, marrying Mary E. Roberts in Bastrop County in 1860. In January 1881, he bought land in this area. Here, he and Mary reared nine children. In 1884, James set aside land for a school and a family cemetery. He was buried here in 1898, and his grave is the first marked in the cemetery. The most recent burial dates to the 1950s. Today the family cemetery is adjacent to a community center established at the site of the former school. Both serve as reminders of the Clark family and their contributions to area history and growth. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
North Carolina native James E. Clark came to Texas and married in Bastrop County before buying land in this area in 1881, where he and his wife Mary raised nine children. In 1884 he set aside ground for both a school and a family cemetery, and when he died in 1898 his was the first marked grave. The adjoining community center now stands on the site of the old school, tying the two institutions together.
Why it matters
It captures how a single settling family could plant the twin roots of frontier community life—a schoolhouse and a burial ground—on its own land.
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Related people
- · James E. Clark
- · Mary E. Roberts
Themes & tags
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