Duke Cemetery
Alvarado, Johnson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Dr. John Duke (1827-1884), his wife Martha (1836-1888), and their family moved to Johnson County in 1854. They established a farm in the area later called the Willow Springs Community. When their ten-year-old daughter Zilla died in 1870, they buried her on the family farm. Zilla was soon joined by siblings Orson and Lucy. Emma Griffin, a relative's child, was buried beside the Duke children in 1878. Dr. Duke deeded the burial ground to the community in 1879; four more Duke children had died by 1882. Other Willow Springs residents interred here include ranchers and farmers, teachers, merchants, ministers, and soldiers. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Dr. John Duke and his wife Martha moved to Johnson County in 1854 and established a farm in what became the Willow Springs Community. When their ten-year-old daughter Zilla died in 1870 they buried her on the family farm, and she was soon joined by siblings and a young relative. In 1879 Dr. Duke deeded the burial ground to the community, and it became the resting place of Willow Springs ranchers, farmers, teachers, merchants, ministers and soldiers.
Why it matters
A family grave that grew into a community cemetery, Duke Cemetery preserves the everyday people who settled and sustained a rural corner of frontier Texas.
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Related people
- · Dr. John Duke
- · Martha Duke
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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