Clark Cemetery
Port Lavaca, Calhoun County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This burial ground served members of the Clark family, many of whom lived in the no longer extant Chocolate Community. Named for the Chocolate Creek, which runs nearby, the settlement began when Sylvanus Hatch purchased property near the creek. In 1846, Sylvanus, his brother Joseph, and their families settled in the area. Residents raised cattle and horses, and farmed the land. Many of the settlers worshipped at St. Paul’s-on-the-Prairie, an Episcopal church; the community school was also housed in the congregation’s building for a time. Chocolate later declined and by 1936, the school and church closed. In the mid-1850s, John Clark and his extended family settled here. Clark donated property and built stock pens, which became known as Clark’s Station, along the Indianola Railroad to afford area residents the ability to ship their crops and stock to market. In 1899, he deeded this property for use as a burial ground. The earliest known burial here is of William Clark (d. 1875), a son of Daniel Clark, one of John’s brothers. Also among those interred is Thomas Clark, another of John’s brothers, who served the Confederacy during the Civil War. Cemetery features include curbing, masonic gravestones, vertical stones and obelisks; additional property was donated in 1941. Over the years, descendants of the interred have cared for the burial ground. Today, Clark Cemetery continues to serve as a record of a pioneering area family and is the last remaining vestige of the Chocolate Community.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This burial ground served the Clark family of the vanished Chocolate community, named for nearby Chocolate Creek where Sylvanus Hatch and his brother Joseph settled in 1846. Residents raised cattle and horses, farmed, and worshipped at St. Paul's-on-the-Prairie, whose building also housed the school. In the mid-1850s John Clark arrived and built stock pens known as Clark's Station along the Indianola Railroad, letting area farmers ship crops and cattle to market; he deeded this cemetery in 1899.
Why it matters
The cemetery is the last trace of a lost Gulf Coast farming community, preserving the memory of the railroad and cattle economy that briefly gave it life.
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Related people
- · John Clark
- · Sylvanus Hatch
Themes & tags
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