Crawford Cemetery
Crawford, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
"H. Kee" chiseled on a rockpile marks the first burial at this site, that of Harvey Gilmore Kee (1875-1876), son of Richard and Sarah (Hughes) Kee, who settled in this area for a time in the mid-1870s. Neighbor Uriah Tadlock (1832-1919) offered the use of one of his pastures for the child's burial and at the same time set aside three acres of land for a community cemetery. Uriah, a Civil War veteran, and his wife, Mary Ann (Moore) Tadlock (1838-1888), who bought this land along a cattle trail known as Tonk Creek Road in 1870, are also laid to rest here. They were instrumental in Crawford's development, constructing a number of houses and buildings and contributing land for the methodist church and school. Uriah served as Crawford's postmaster in the mid-1870s. Tradition says he dedicated the land with the understanding that no one fwas to pay for a burial place. Today, the cemetery's care is overseen by an association formed in 1923 and through a trust fund set up in 1972. Additional purchased land and land gifts by Loren and Aletha Allen, A.O. Jordan, and Earl Medford, have allowed for needed expansion. Veterans are especially honored here in this burial ground that chronicles the pioneers and families who settled and developed this corner of McLennan County. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Crawford Cemetery began with grief: a chiseled rockpile reading "H. Kee" marks the 1876 grave of an infant boy whose family had newly settled the area. Neighbor Uriah Tadlock, a Civil War veteran who bought land along the Tonk Creek Road cattle trail in 1870, offered a pasture for the burial and set aside three acres as a community cemetery, tradition holding that no one was ever to pay for a resting place. Tadlock and his wife Mary Ann helped build early Crawford—houses, the Methodist church, and a school—and are buried here among the pioneers who developed this corner of McLennan County.
Why it matters
The cemetery is a quiet chronicle of frontier community-building, where a single act of neighborly generosity over a child's grave grew into a shared civic institution.
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Related people
- · Uriah Tadlock
- · Mary Ann Moore Tadlock
- · Harvey Gilmore Kee
Themes & tags
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