Damon Cemetery
Damon, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of oldest cemeteries in county. Started Dec. 13, 1837, with burial of Sylvester Winn Damon, a relative, on Abraham Darst's land grant of 1829 from Mexico. Locating of this first grave was within a year of date of founding of Brazoria County. Cemetery dedicated and 2.5 acre tract deeded to public, Sept. 1, 1908. (1964)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
One of Brazoria County's oldest burial grounds, Damon Cemetery began on December 13, 1837, with the interment of Sylvester Winn Damon on land Abraham Darst had received in an 1829 Mexican grant. That first grave was dug within a year of the county's founding. In 1908 a 2.5-acre tract was formally dedicated and deeded to the public.
Why it matters
Rooted in a Mexican-era land grant and the earliest years of the Republic of Texas, the cemetery is a physical link to the Anglo-American colonists who first settled the lower Brazos country.
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Related people
- ยท Sylvester Winn Damon
- ยท Abraham Darst
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Abraham Darst
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Abraham Darst came to Mexican Texas from Missouri in 1827 as one of Stephen F. Austin's colonists, part of the first wave of Anglo-American settlement on the Brazos. He took up arms in the 1832 Battle of Velasco, an early clash with Mexican authority, and though he died in 1833, five of his sons served in the Army of Texas during the revolution of 1836.
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