Cross Plains Cemetery
Cross Plains, Callahan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Situated on a flat area near the edge of town, the Cross Plains Cemetery is the final resting place for the town’s key leaders and families. The land, originally granted to James Knight, one of Stephen F. Austin’s original colonists, for service in the Mexican-American War, passed to several absentee landowners. The first burial was the son of Uncle Johnnie Lard (Laird) in 1882. In 1905, Thomas F. Steele and his sister, Annie Parsons (Steele) Eager, deeded the land to cemetery trustees. Many military veterans are buried here, along with all of the original cemetery trustees, Cross Plains’ first mayor, John A. Wagner, and members of numerous fraternal organizations.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The land holding Cross Plains Cemetery was first granted to James Knight, one of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists, as reward for service in the Mexican-American War, before passing through a string of absentee owners. The first burial came in 1882 — the young son of "Uncle Johnnie" Laird — and in 1905 the Steele family deeded the ground to cemetery trustees. Today it holds the town's founding families, its first mayor, John A. Wagner, many military veterans, and members of its fraternal lodges.
Why it matters
The cemetery ties Cross Plains back to Austin's colonists and the Mexican-American War, tracing a direct line from Texas's earliest Anglo settlement to the town that grew on that ground.
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Related people
- · James Knight
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · John A. Wagner
Themes & tags
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