Concrete Cemetery
La Vernia, Guadalupe County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Encompassing 6.814 acres of land, Concrete Cemetery includes within its borders burials for both Anglo and Hispanic citizens of the La Vernia and New Berlin communities. The area surrounding the cemetery was called Concrete (formerly Bethesda). Local farmer and rancher James Henry Newton, who brought his family here from Mississippi about 1851-52, designated a portion of his property as a burial ground when his brother Joel died in 1856. The oldest recorded burial, that of Maria Madden Dial in 1855, indicates previous use as a graveyard. The community and cemetery were named for an 1858 concrete building used as a school, church and Masonic Hall. James Newton officially deeded a two-acre tract of land here in 1875 for use as a community cemetery. The first documented burial in the adjacent Hispanic section is that of Paulita Salazar in 1913. Additional donations of land were made by the descendants of J. G. and Jennie Scull. The graveyard contains a diverse collection of gravestones reflecting the historic communities it serves. Among the more than 800 burials here are pioneer settlers, infants and children, veterans and members of fraternal organizations. The site continues to serve the area. (1997)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Concrete Cemetery grew out of the land of James Henry Newton, who brought his family from Mississippi about 1851–52 and set aside a burial ground when his brother Joel died in 1856, though an 1855 grave suggests earlier use. The surrounding community—first called Bethesda, then Concrete—took its name from an 1858 concrete building that served as school, church, and Masonic hall. Newton deeded the tract formally in 1875, and the cemetery came to hold both Anglo and Hispanic sections, with more than 800 burials of pioneers, veterans, and children.
Why it matters
Its side-by-side Anglo and Hispanic sections make the cemetery a lasting record of the two communities who together settled and worked this corner of frontier Texas.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Attractions
- Green Acres Golf and Games12.0 mi away
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Related people
- · James Henry Newton
- · Maria Madden Dial
Themes & tags
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