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Elkhart Garden of Memories Cemetery

Elkhart, Anderson County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Situated among oak, pine and crepe myrtles, this cemetery is the resting place for descendants of Elkhart settlers. The first burial was that of Lewis Hunter in 1887, although the cemetery was not official until J.D. Fuller and his wife, Gertrude Fuller, donated two acres of land in 1906. A number of veterans from the Civil War to Desert Storm are buried here, including E.V. Douthit, a Civil War veteran, Elkhart postmaster and co-owner of the first store in Elkhart. Gravestone materials include marble, granite, cement and limestone. The Elkhart Garden of Memories Cemetery Association, organized in 1962, cares for this historic cemetery. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2011

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Shaded by oak, pine, and crepe myrtle, this Elkhart burial ground took its first grave in 1887 but was not formally established until the Fuller family donated two acres in 1906. Among those resting here is E.V. Douthit — Civil War veteran, town postmaster, and co-owner of Elkhart's first store — alongside veterans of every American conflict from the Civil War to Desert Storm. A cemetery association organized in 1962 has cared for the grounds ever since.

Why it matters

A single small-town cemetery spanning veterans from the 1860s to the 1990s is a compact record of how one American community answered the nation's call across more than a century of wars.

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Related people

  • · Lewis Hunter
  • · J.D. Fuller
  • · Gertrude Fuller
  • · E.V. Douthit

Themes & tags

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